Several Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) leaders were key speakers at the recently concluded Seamless Philippines 2020 Virtual, the country’s first fully digital conference and exhibition on the future of e-commerce.
With over 3,000 online-attendees eager to learn about the transformation Payments, E-commerce, Retail, Fintech and Digital Identity in the Philippines, the two-day virtual event brought together innovation experts from various industries.
Banking Transformation guru and UnionBank Vice Chairman Dr. Justo A. Ortiz led the roster of speakers and delivered the keynote session of the first day, talking about UnionBank’s multi-awarded transformation journey, core purpose and milestones.
“The greatest obstacle to transformation is Hubris, driven by cognitive biases, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. With this mindset, innovation is constrained, creativity is stifled, and customer engagement is sacrificed. We need to have a vision of the future. In contrast to the typical strategic planning process of starting with the present and moving to the future, we instead imagined how the future will be and brought it to the present,” said Ortiz.
Dr. Ortiz was followed by UnionBank Chief Transformation, Technology & Operations Officer Henry R. Aguda who spoke about how to make digital payments more accessible to the unbanked and thus enable greater financial inclusion and inclusive prosperity.
“For our goal of financial inclusion, all the efforts that we have put into increasing the adoption of digital payments through NRPS and through the introduction of digital solutions, whether through the app or online, has led to a material improvement in the number of people that are now included in the banking system. Digital payment directly addresses financial inclusion in the Philippines,” said Aguda.
UnionBank leaders were also among industry experts sharing insights on various panel discussions including retail transformation in the Philippines with the Bank’s Customer Segment Management Head Jaypee Soliman as panel moderator; opportunities for challenger banks in the country with Fintech Business Group’s Blockchain Business Development Head, Cathy Casas, as panelist; and the future of national ID in the Philippines with Chief Economist, Carlo Asuncion, as panelist.
“Together with my fellow UnionBankers, we are honored to have this opportunity to share key insights and experiences of the digital transformation journey. Especially during this pandemic, our experience has shown that continuing on our path enables us to serve more customers and moves us closer towards our goal of inclusive prosperity for the Philippines,” said Ortiz.
Digital banking trailblazer UnionBank was cited as among the ‘Most Helpful Banks in Asia-Pacific during COVID-19’ by BankQuality.com – the only Philippine Bank cited – and also recently as the Philippines’ Best Bank for SMEs for its achievements in reaching-out to this vital segment for the future of the country.
