Arthur Fuentes

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Boardroom Tea, Salve Ibañez

Salve Ibaňez

<p>Last week, I was on my way to listen to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon but made a Skyway mistake and found myself early for BPI&#x27;s media launch at Tower 2 of Ayala Triangle Gardens. I was not at all thrilled at the prospect of killing around 40 minutes even if it meant starting on a lot of backlog writing, so imagine my delight when I saw someone arriving earlier than everybody else.</p><p>Robina Gokongwei-Pe. Herself. With no assistants.</p><p>Typical Robina—understated power in flats and that trademark mischievous smile. We chatted about the financial alchemy happening behind the scenes: BPI and Robinsons Retail Holdings orchestrating an innovation that was extremely thrilling for my banking-geek heart.</p><p>Cash withdrawals at grocery checkouts? This isn&#x27;t the financial industry I cut my teeth on when Nokia 3210s ruled the world.</p><p>What made it happen? I asked.</p><p>Robina said a friendship forged over UP Basketball fandom started it all. That friend asked her to talk to another friend, and here we are. Sometimes the most transformative business deals start with the most human connections — but only, I mused, when we are willing to break down silos.</p><p>&quot;You can remain in silos all you want if that is what works, but if you like each other, why not?&quot;</p><p>The 63-year-old retail empress wasn&#x27;t being philosophical—she was describing a P27-billion merger&#x27;s elegant offspring. It is a reality that business handshakes require bulletproof trust – especially between two of the country&#x27;s most prominent families.</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1763564956932bpi robinsons.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>An Interesting Complexity</strong></div><p>What looks deceptively simple—tap the app, generate a barcode, withdraw—is actually a masterclass in financial choreography. It is fiendishly complicated. Every cashier terminal is transformed into a micro-ATM. Every Robinsons employee trained as an auxiliary banker. Every transaction threading through payment rails that didn&#x27;t exist five years ago.</p><p>BPI President TG Limcaoco&#x27;s three-year obsession finally materialized: 400 partner stores scaling to 500 by year-end, serving BPI&#x27;s 6 million active app users with withdrawals as small as P100—impossible at traditional ATMs.</p><p>Limcaoco revealed something that competitors will wish they realized first: in-store withdrawals cost less than ATM deployment while expanding touchpoints exponentially. No new infrastructure needed. No cash management overhead. Pure variable-cost efficiency.</p><p>But here&#x27;s the kicker—customers can screenshot withdrawal barcodes and send them to anyone, anywhere in the Philippines. Instant, remote cash access through one of the archipelago&#x27;s most ubiquitous retail network.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Strategic Masterstroke</strong></div><p>This is ecosystem warfare. With Mariana Zobel de Ayala now on BPI&#x27;s board and the Gokongwei retail empire as a distribution asset, two of the Philippines&#x27; most powerful business dynasties just weaponized convenience. And who else but TG to make it happen, he himself part of business royalty — his family owning the largest auto dealership in the country with interests in real estate, hospitality, and banking.</p><p>The social media reel dropping this week on BPI’s socials featuring Robina, Mariana, and TG isn&#x27;t marketing fluff—it&#x27;s a declaration. Watch for Mariana dropping “chos”, TG saying “sakto” and Robina finally agreeing to an on-cam cameo, with the casual confidence of those who just shifted the future of Filipino financial services.</p><p>Until next week, keep your ears open and your receipts ready.</p><div><em>Boardroom Tea comes out every Wednesday</em></div>

<p>Sometimes the most transformative business deals start with the most human connections.</p>

Sometimes the most transformative business deals start with the most human connections.

Boardroom Tea: An innovation that turns grocery cashiers into ATMs

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Boardroom Tea: An innovation that turns grocery cashiers into ATMs

Salve Ibaňez

Published Nov 19, 2025 11:53 PM PHT

Read More:

BPI

Robinsons

Robina Gokongwei

banking

finance

Mariana Zobel

Ayala

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