Union Bank partners with fintechs
UNIONBANK of the Philippines, ushered in its most significant jump towards the future when it unveiled its first fully digital branch, dubbed The Ark, along Ayala Avenue in Makati City.
This paperless branch is equipped with advanced digital technology to augment actual banking experience. It employs self-service kiosks, virtual reality boxes, refreshments and internet connection that should enable customers to do more banking transactions.
Inside the Ark premises, clients deal with ambassadors instead of tellers. These are all equipped with iPads that fast-track the process of opening an account to 10 minutes—a significant improvement from the usual hour-long waiting time previously known among Union Bank- ers.
“The world is moving forward and we’re already seeing solutions that make the whole ecosystem more efficient,” said UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista.
UnionBank plans to open within the year over 10 other ARK and smaller ARK Light branches in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao.
Centerpiece to UnionBank’s digital transformation is its partnerships with fintechs as signaled by the opening of its application programming interface (API) that enable all Philippine businesses to gain access to the ongoing financial technology revolution.
Numerous fintechs have approached UnionBanks for their basic banking needs as reflected in their total relationship balance ( TRB) and through-put volumes.
In its first-ever Tech Up Expo held at Shangri-La at The Fort last April 26 and 27, UnionBank showcased its milestones on digital transformation since 2016.
Bautista noted, “The early adopters have a very important role in nation-building. They are the fast ones to show the others if something works or not. If they succeed, then the others will surely follow.”
Last year UnionBank launched the new, improved, digital banking platform EON, an improved version of its original platform that was first launched many years back. Using this platform, a new prepaid account was introduced at local 7-Eleven convenience stores and Ministop outlets nationwide, making it more accessible to the unbanked and underbanked.
EON also introduced, for the first time in Asia, selfiebanking that lets clients log into their accounts by doing the famous selfie pose in front of their smartphones. The feature eliminates the use of passwords while offering more security with the facial recognition feature.
In other developments, UnionBank is also investing several millions to future-proof the business. Take the case of its 24/7 security operations center ( IOC) which facilitates effective security measures to counter cybersecurity threats.
A so- called situation room is stationed in between the Security Operations Center and the IT Operations Center to make sure faster collaboration for meetings, conference calls, and emergencies. The IOC is likewise responsible for monitoring the performance of systems, servers and applications, and of uptime of leased lines.
Bautista ultimately concluded that banking is a “people business”, therefore “an engaged workforce delivering great services will, at the end of the day, translate into a loyal customer group.”