By putting client experience at the forefront of its design process, UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) continues to push the envelope in business banking experience in the Philippines. Bringing home plum awards and besting its competition locally as well as those in the region, UnionBank is proving to be a game-changer that everyone should look out for.
At the Digital CX Awards 2020 by The Digital Banker, UnionBank was adjudged Winner in the categories, Outstanding Blockchain Initiative for Customer Experience and Best Customer Loyalty Program. The bank was also hailed Highly Acclaimed for Outstanding Customer Experience for Digital Payments and Best Bank Account User Experience. Truly a momentous achievement considering the fact that this year’s awards received more than 200 nominations in various awards categories.
This year’s select panel of judges include industry experts from companies such as Forrester, EY, Fuji Xerox, Bain & Company, Wipro Digital and KPMG. These individuals are known for their extensive experience in executing and advising on major transformation projects for FSI organisations globally.
“All our efforts are geared towards creating superior banking experience for our customers. With initiatives that are centred around convenience, efficiency, and security – even in the most basic banking function, we can help our customers stay on top of their game, anytime, anywhere. Winning this award makes us feel more motivated to further improve and help more people,” said John Cary Ong, Executive Vice President, Transaction Banking Center at UnionBank.
“Teched up” SME Customers
Tech Up is an advocacy of UnionBank that aims to digitally transform processes and businesses
in the Philippines by embedding its customers with the bank’s tools to help them make their lives easier. On November 2019, UnionBank flew nine Filipino business owners to Singapore to attend the Singapore Fintech Festival. This initiative forms part of the bank’s thrust to help business owners be exposed and learn new trends flourishing in the fintech space. The winners were selected based on the following criteria:
- their current relationship with the bank
- their forecasted business growth
- technology open or aligned
Through the help of its partners including the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the bank helped their sponsored SMEs to gain access to workshops and networking sessions that aim to build up opportunities on a global scale:
“UnionBank flew nine Filipino business owners to Singapore to attend the Singapore Fintech Festival. This initiative forms part of the bank’s thrust to help business owners be exposed in the fintech space.”
Business Sans Border project – partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS),
this workshop showcased the opportunities for streamlined payments from one country to the other and how this project will help improve revenue streams for businesses. This project is led by UnionBank’s Fintech startup, UBX.
UnionBank GlobalLinker’s Trade Connect – this award-winning global SME Meetup, a key highlight of the event, was about cross boarder meetup between business owners from India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
In 2018, one of UnionBank’s delegates, Ms. Audrey Regis, was only part of the winner’s circle. In 2019, she was invited by the MAS to become a speaker for the event. From locally selling goods in the Philippines, because of Trade Connect, she is now able to sell her goods in countries as far as India and Japan.
Financial Supply Chain on Blockchain
UnionBank is also a trailblazer for launching the first financial supply chain system on blockchain in the Philippines – a platform that enables seamless transactions without compromising security, efficiency and customer experience in the supply chain.
In an age where exchanges of goods and services has never been more closely connected, Financial Supply Chain has never been so crucial. Financial Supply Chain on Blockchain enables transparency while protecting sensitive data and information through distributed ledgers and smart contracts. This enables UnionBank to offer non-traditional payment options to small and medium enterprises, distributors, suppliers and dealers while digitising the invoice presentment and demand order processing.
During its initial implementation, the UnionBank team immediately realised the benefits of the project when its first transaction reached P63 million in total payments from a single buyer, which proves user acceptance of the system.
“Financial Supply Chain on Blockchain enables transparency while protecting sensitive data and information.”
The development (in partnership with IBM) of the Financial Supply Chain System on Blockchain gives the distributors, dealers and suppliers that are enrolled in the system the confidence to avail non-traditional financing options on a single click of a button. This provides efficiency in managing their receivables and payables as manual processing takes too much time.
The initiative also helped enhance customers experience as they can now view all their balances, request for multiple financing options and initiate any transactions via a single system without any manual intervention, all powered by Blockchain. The technology promotes transparency, security and immutability through distributed ledgers and smart contracts – features that greatly help reduce the risk of fraud such as double financing.
The implementation enabled UnionBank disrupt how financing if done in the Philippines by offering non-traditional and multiple financing options through a single platform.
Read more about the winners at the Digital CX Awards 2020 here.
Image: Z. Jacobs / Shutterstock.com
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