LENDER Union Bank of the Philippines Inc. (UnionBank) has created its financial technology unit UBX, which will hold its technology initiatives, platforms and investments in fintech companies.
“UBX is a manifestation of transformation of UnionBank’s ‘dual transformation’ road map, where we want to cocreate businesses and financial services that technology will unlock,” UBX President and CEO John Januszczak said, referring to the second phase of its so-called transformation that started in 2016.
The bank’s first phase of transformation was on becoming the country’s “Best Digital Bank”—a target accomplished after it bagged several awards.
“It’s a new entity that operates separately from UnionBank and is designed to be like a fintech company,” Januszczak said. “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.”
Initially, UBX will leverage on two products incubated in UnionBank. These are UnionBank GlobalLinker, which is an e-business networking platform and Project i2i, a blockchain-supported platform that connects rural banks and cooperatives to other financial institutions in the country.
UBX said it also inked its first investment deal with Shiptek Solutions Corp., a developer of end-to-end digital logistics platform known as XLOG and is owned by the Ynion Group, a two-year-old logistics services provider.
“One of the numerous advantages of being a fintech company today is that regulation is not as strict compared to banks. This allows more room for thinking ‘outside-the-box’ and implementing new services that those in traditional banking and finance may consider too ‘out-in-left-field.’ That is what we want to happen with UBX,” Januszczak said.
UBX’s expertise in technology development and blockchain is seen to further power XLOG’s end-to-end supply chain solution that consolidates shipping, warehousing, trucking and customs brokerage.
Januszczak said they will move to “cocreate innovations” with companies who also like to use “transformative experiences” for customers.
“Apart from developing platforms to go to market with business models that are beyond banking, we will also invest in capabilities and platforms that share the same objective,” Januszczak said.
UBX, which registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in December last year, said it is targeting the expansion of e-commerce access for the unbanked and underbanked by connecting these communities with extensive.