UnionBank Wins IDC's 2019 Digital Transformer of the Year Award Again
Project 12i also named Operating Model Master for Phl
Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) was declared anew as 2019 Digital Transformer of the Year at the third IDC Digital Transformer Awards held on Sept. 25 for creating its newly established fintech subsidiary UBX.
IDC, one of the world's most authoritative tech industry research firms, honors companies that have successfully digitalized one or multiple areas of their business through the application of digital and disruptive technologies.
UBX also bagged another award for its Project i2i which connects rural banks and cooperatives to other financial institutions in the country. Project i2i was honored for being an Operating Model Master for the Philippines.
Last year, UnionBank also won the Digital Transformer of the Year award "for its relentless pursuit to transform into a digital bank, with a culture of innovation and experimentation that changes the way the bank engages with both its clients and employees."
IDC defines Digital Transformation (DX) as the approach where organizations drive changes in their business models and business ecosystems by leveraging digital technologies (cloud, mobile, big data/analytics, social and IoT) and competencies.
UBX, which houses UnionBank's technology initiatives, platforms and investments in fintech companies, was recognized for ushering the age of embedded banking, or banking that is made through a platform other than a bank, such as mobile apps and the internet of things (I0T) - which are expected to become the dominant banking channels in the next few years. Because it is effortless and simple for consumers, embedded banking is expected to dramatically reduce the number of unbanked Filipinos in a short period of time.
"UBX is a manifestation of Transformation B of UnionBank's Dual Transformation Roadmap, where we want to co-create businesses and financial services that technology will unlock," said UBX president and CEO John Januszczak. UnionBank's Tranformation A focuses on becoming the Best Digital Bank.
"It's a new entity that operates separately from UnionBank and is designed to be like a fintech company. With UBX, we want to usher in the age of embedded banking in the Philippines, where banking services are woven into the very fabric of everyday life," Januszczak added.
UBX initially leveraged on two products incubated in UnionBank. These are UnionBank GlobalLinker which is a B2B networking platform; and Project i2i, a blockchain-based transaction and retail payments system.
Meanwhile, IDC Philippines head of operations Randy Roberts said they saw impressive progress in the depth and breadth of the submissions for the IDC awards this year, citing over 1,000 high-quality entries from across Asia-Pacific.
All the country winners qualify as IDC's finalists for the regional awards where they will be benchmarked against other winners in the same category to ultimately determine the region's best of the best.
The regional awarding ceremony will take place during IDC's Digital Transformation Summit at the Raffles City Convention Center in Singapore on Oct. 23-24.