Bankard, Incorporated was organized by Philippine Commercial International Bank, or PCI Bank on December 4, 1981, as the Philippine Commercial Credit Card, Inc. (PCCCI) to operate a domestic credit card operation.

PCCCI's affiliation with PCIBank gave it the distinction of being the first credit card company in the Philippines issued by a commercial bank.

[citation needed] In 2000, majority of Bankard was sold to the Yuchengco Group of Companies, owner of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC).

However, this was set to change after the Yuchengco Group of Companies accepted a buyout offer from GE Consumer Finance for an undisclosed price, subject to stockholder approval.

In the past, YGC had sought to nullify its acquisition on the grounds that it paid Equitable PCI Bank too much.