Banking bigwigs recently gathered at the Ayala Museum to celebrate the 20th anniversary of MegaLink, the first operational shared network in the Philippines. The highly successful affair was graced by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tentangco, Jr., who was joined by MegaLink board chairman and Banco de Oro (BDO) president Nestor V. Tan.

A highlight of the affair was the signing of a memorandum of agreement, which now enables MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus cardholders to access any of the 2,952 MegaLink ATMs nationwide.

Spearheaded by BDO, the memorandum was signed by MegaLink president and CEO Benjamin P. Castillo and BDO senior vice president for transaction banking Jun Estela, Jr.

Bearing witness to the signing were MasterCard executives led by its senior country manager and vice president Poch Villa-Real, vice president for member relations and marketing Judith Dayrit and vice president for operations and member relations Anton Corro.

“MegaLink is delighted with this development, which coincides with the celebration of our 20th anniversary. This will help extend MegaLink’s services to not just local cardholders but even to international cardholders, consistent with our vision of becoming a global player,” says Castillo.

“Through the collaboration between MegaLink and MasterCard, we are proud to have played a role as a ‘bridge for convenience.’ MegaLink being the country’s pioneering ATM and financial services provider, and MasterCard, which advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide, share our vision of a future that is built on excellence,” said Estela.