UNIONBANK
He continues , “ We collaborate with them in a partnership that is meaningful in the pursuit of a common vision . And for UnionBank , that common vision is financial inclusion for the broadest number of Filipinos in our country .”
The system appears to be working because Union Bank of the Philippines has been awarded best digital bank for several consecutive years . “ We have the passion for continual reinvention . For example , we recently got our license for a full-blown digital bank that will be called UnionDgital . Our plan is to continue to reinvent the way digital banking is being done .”
Aguda explains that the bank ’ s backroom processes will be reconfigured to herald a new era in digital banking that is based in the metaverse - a new buzzword that has planted Web 3.0 or the spatial internet .
“ It ' s the merger of the physical and the virtual world . So UnionBank wants to be the first bank to plant its flag in the metaverse . We ' re now talking to gaming companies that provide play for pay as entertainment and e-sports , and looking at ways of how we could convert the crypto , immediately to fiat and fiat to crypto . Allowing gamers in the blockchain virtual world to easily participate in the traditional economies and vice versa . So , that ' s another exciting pursuit of UnionBank .”
Customer-first philosophy The world of play-for-pay is where the future lies in terms of progress for Union Bank of the Philippines , says Aguda , who explains that play-for-pay gamers often struggle to get bank accounts . “ And because they don ' t have bank accounts , the yield on their conversion falls and they end up paying huge transfer fees . But by providing banking services , their earnings are immediately accessible and offer them a way to improve their lives .”
This aspect concludes our conversation , a subject that is clearly a passion for Aguda . “ What inspires me in banking today is the way that it is affecting people ' s lives ,” he says . “ If you give customers a facility that allows them to borrow money with competitive rates , nothing that would prevent them from repaying , that impacts people ' s lives . So that continues to sustain my interest in the banking industry .”
Ultimately though , it all comes down to creating better services for the bank ’ s loyal customers , whether that is for the unbanked or the latest armchair investors . People , says Aguda , are at the heart of the matter - and as a highly sociable person , he can ’ t wait for things to get back to ‘ normal ’ - even if digital transformation has been fun .
“ The first thing I ' m going to do is to go out and meet people . I want to have proper meetings . I want to fly to other countries and see our partners and colleagues . Before the pandemic , we travelled a lot . It ’ s one of the few things I really miss . So engaging in the industry personally , with both people inside and outside of the Philippines , is number one on my bucket list .”
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