Unionbank launches all-in-1 online payment platform

UNION Bank of the Philippines on Friday launched an all-in-one payment acceptance hub in an effort to complete its financial and transaction toolkit the bank said would “empower” local micro-scale, smallscale and medium-scale enterprises (MSMES) amid the pandemic.

Unionbank launched via online “an integrated, all-in-one payment facility” it calls “Upay,” which allows users to send payment requests and collect payments.

The bank said its gateway also provides a checkout facility and accepts all modes of payment— from fund transfer, over the counter payments, e-wallets, debit cards to credit cards—”enabling them to complete the transaction at the point of sale.”

Unionbank’s share price closed P76.70 per share last Friday, up by P0.20 from its previous close. Friday’s closing price already nears its 53-week high of P78 per share.

Earnings

THE Aboitiz-led bank reported last week that its January-june earnings jumped by 94 percent to P8.3 billion year-on-year, translating to return on equity of 15.9 percent.

Total revenues improved by 16 percent to P25.5 billion for the period. Net interest income rose by 7 percent to P14.8 billion on the back of better net interest margins. Non-interest income, meanwhile, grew by 33 percent to P10.7 billion, thanks to robust trading gains and higher foreign exchange income and fees.

The listed bank downgraded its loan loss provisions by 56 percent to P3.1 billion in the first half amid stabilizing non-performing loans (NPL). As of end-june, its NPL ratio slowed down to 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent in year-end 2020.

Purpose

UNIONBANK Vice President and SME Segment Head Jose Paulo R. Soliman said during the online news briefing the new platform is in line with the bank’s “main purpose [which is] to empower MSMES to uplift their businesses and enable inclusive prosperity by extending products that go beyond traditional banking services.”

“We also believe that in order to achieve this, our organization had to shift and pivot as well by educating them on the use of concrete solutions that will help keep their businesses afloat in the now normal,” Soliman added.

On July 15, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the application of Unionbank to establish a digital bank called Union Bank Digital.

Application

LAST January, Unionbank launched an MSME business banking app to provide a single platform that allows access and management of financial needs for small businesses in the country.

With its latest product offering, Unionbank completes its portfolio of comprehensive products and services catering to the banking needs of the MSME sector.

“MSMES are the backbone of the Philippine economy and their success is crucial especially amid challenging instances like the current pandemic,” Unionbank Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Inclusive Executive Manuel G. Santiago said.

“That being said, we want to make sure that every MSME goes to us for their digital and financial needs because we believe that we always come prepared with the right solution and answer for them when they do,” Santiago added.