business ·
digital transformation
RCBC Partners with Digital Edge NARRA 1 for Resilient Digital Banking
Monday, December 15, 2025
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is taking a decisive step toward future-ready banking as it formalizes a strategic partnership with Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd., reinforcing the backbone of the Philippines’ fast-evolving digital finance ecosystem.
Under the partnership, RCBC will migrate its production site to Digital Edge’s NARRA 1, currently the largest operating true carrier-neutral data center in the Philippines. The move supports RCBC’s long-term digital transformation agenda, ensuring its systems are resilient, secure, and capable of supporting the growing demand for always-on digital banking services nationwide.
The ceremonial signing was held at RCBC Plaza in Makati City, attended by senior leaders from both organizations, including RCBC President and CEO Reggie Cariaso, RCBC Chief Information Officer John Alabastro, Digital Edge Philippines President and CEO Vic Barrios, and Threadborne Group Chairman Charlie Rufino.
Building a stronger foundation for next-generation banking
The Philippine banking sector is entering a new era marked by accelerating digital adoption, increasing transaction volumes, the rise of AI-enabled services, and stricter cybersecurity and regulatory expectations. For banks, this shift demands not only innovation but also a stronger and more resilient technology foundation.
As part of its 2026 digital roadmap, RCBC is focused on enhancing operational resilience, expanding high-availability infrastructure, and strengthening compliance across its most critical environments. Migrating production workloads to NARRA 1 enables the bank to safeguard essential systems, support expanding digital services, and deliver consistent, secure customer experiences even as demand continues to rise.
This infrastructure upgrade comes at a pivotal time. As more Filipinos rely on digital channels for everyday banking, RCBC is reinforcing its IT backbone to stay ahead of industry expectations and support long-term growth.
“Digital Edge’s operational track record, sustainability-centered engineering expertise, and commitment to security made them the right partner for us,” said John Alabastro, RCBC Chief Information Officer. “We selected NARRA 1 because it delivers the technical scale and environmental efficiency required by a modern, fast-growing bank.”
Why NARRA 1 fits RCBC’s mission-critical needs
Designed to support high-demand enterprise workloads, NARRA 1 provides a future-ready environment for RCBC’s mission-critical operations. The facility features a Tier 3, carrier-neutral architecture engineered for high availability, supported by 100 percent dual-power redundancy to minimize the risk of service disruption.
Security and privacy controls at NARRA 1 are aligned with the stringent requirements of the banking sector, helping RCBC meet regulatory expectations while protecting sensitive customer and transactional data. At the same time, the data center’s renewable-energy-powered and energy-efficient design supports RCBC’s broader sustainability objectives.
Together, these capabilities allow RCBC to scale production workloads with confidence, balancing performance, reliability, and environmental responsibility as it accelerates its digital transformation.
Supporting the shift to hybrid and cloud-ready banking
The partnership also reflects a broader trend across the Philippine financial sector. Banks and financial institutions are increasingly modernizing legacy systems and moving toward hybrid and cloud-ready environments to support innovation, improve agility, and strengthen resilience.
“We are seeing a clear shift as financial institutions prioritize resilience and modernization,” said Vic Barrios, President and CEO of Digital Edge Philippines. “RCBC’s decision to locate its production workloads in NARRA 1 validates our commitment to providing banking-grade infrastructure built for security, uptime, and high-density performance.”
Barrios added that Digital Edge is well-positioned to support RCBC and other financial institutions as they prepare for the next phase of digital growth.
A sustainable and compliant data center for regulated industries
NARRA 1 stands out not only for scale and reliability, but also for sustainability and compliance. The facility is TIA-942-C certified, powered entirely by renewable energy, and recognized with BERDE, IFC EDGE, and LEED Gold certifications. It is also engineered to deliver one of the lowest Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratings in the region, reinforcing its position as one of Southeast Asia’s most energy-efficient data centers.
Built to meet the regulatory and security standards required by banks and other regulated institutions, NARRA 1 offers a stable, high-performance environment for modern financial operations. Its industry recognition, including the Innovation in Energy Efficiency Award for Southeast Asia from the W.Media Asia Pacific Cloud and Data Center Awards, further underscores its engineering excellence.
For RCBC, colocating in a highly resilient and environmentally efficient facility strengthens its vision of building a secure and sustainable digital banking ecosystem. For the broader industry, the partnership highlights growing momentum among Philippine banks to adopt modern, sustainability-driven colocation solutions.
Setting the pace for 2026 and beyond
The collaboration between RCBC and Digital Edge sets a strong benchmark for how banks can align resilience, efficiency, and sustainability in their digital infrastructure strategies. As digital banking continues to expand and technologies evolve, the partnership positions RCBC to meet today’s demands while remaining ready for the innovations expected in 2026 and beyond.
By investing in robust, future-ready infrastructure, RCBC reinforces its commitment to delivering reliable digital services to millions of Filipinos, while Digital Edge strengthens its role as a trusted partner for mission-critical financial workloads in the Philippines.

















