Established as a non-government organization in 1986, CARD Inc. evolved into a microfinance institution whose mission is to offer community-based social development programs and startup or seed loans for predominantly rural landless women so they can be capable of helping generate additional income for their family.

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CARD, Inc. was founded by Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, together with 14 of his colleagues. From a mere vision of setting-up a bank, which is owned and managed by landless women, it has then evolved into an outstanding microfinance institution (MFI) that is presently leading the pack of microfinance institutions in the Philippines.

A training-focused community and livelihood assistance program for landless coconut workers marked the start of CARD, Inc.'s operation in April 1988.

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As many Filipino families continue to live below the poverty line, CARD, Inc. strives to reach more households through its microfinance services. Since taking off with its Grameen-style micro lending in 1989, CARD, Inc. has spent a considerable time in refining the methodology with the end in view of achieving the twin goals of outreach and sustainability. In December 1995, the Board of Directors and Management began discussing the transformation of CARD, Inc. into a bank to obtain the legal basis for mobilizing deposits from the public, and enable CARD, Inc. to tap the commercial loan market. In 1997, CARD, Inc. obtained from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the license to operate a rural bank, which is then named CARD Bank, Inc. That was the first significant milestone in CARD’s history.