MegaLink (also spelled as Megalink) is a Philippine-based developer of mobile and banking software as well as a service provider for banks, specifically for Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) networks and point of sale systems for banks. It was established in 1989; it was later repurposed in 2015.

History

MegaLink was formed in September 1989 by Equitable Banking Corporation (now merged with Banco de Oro), Far East Bank and Trust Company (now part of BPI),

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, ; ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Hokkien ) is a major Filipino bank based in Pasay in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the Insular Government, America ...

(currently a BancNet member), and United Coconut Planters Bank. MegaLink was launched on March 19, 1990. MegaLink was linked with both BancNet and Expressnet. In 1992, the banks of ATM Bersama, an Indonesian

interbank network An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a computer network that enables ATM cards issued by a financial institution that is a member of the network to be used to perform ATM transactions through ATMs that belo ...

, turned to MegaLink's expertise as their model for a shared services network. MegaLink launched the Debit Bills Payment as well as purchases via POS terminals in 1993. A year later, MegaLink introduced

telephone banking Telephone banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that enables customers to perform over the telephone a range of financial transactions that do not involve cash or financial instruments (such as checks) without the ...

. In 1995, MegaLink forged an alliance with BancNet. In 2003, MegaLink launched an Electronic Settlement with the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...

. In 2006, the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) signed up MegaLink as a founding member in the Philippines. In 2011, MegaLink was interconnected with the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) in South Korea. MegaLink implemented a Telco-agnostic mobile banking service. In 2013, MegaLink also interconnected with National ITMX in Thailand. In late January 2015, MegaLink and BancNet announced their merger. BancNet is the sole surviving entity, while MegaLink has been repurposed. MegaLink now lists itself as a BancNet member under the independent ATM deployer category. Following the repurposing, MegaLink and its assets were sold to the Japanese conglomerate

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

, of which MegaLink is now a subsidiary.

Final members

Transferred to BancNet

*Banco de Oro *BDO Network Bank (formerly One Network Bank) *Coop-NATCCO *Country Builders Bank *ENCASH * GCash Inc. (formerly Mynt/ G-Cash Xchange, Inc.) *MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center *Pacific Ace Savings Bank *

Union Bank of the Philippines Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., more commonly known as UnionBank, is one of the universal banks in the Philippines and the ninth largest bank in the country by assets. UnionBank is a joint consortium among the Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Ab ...

Defunct banks

* Equitable PCI Bank (merged with Banco de Oro) * Plantersbank (merged with Chinabank)

References

External links