By KENN ANTHONY MENDOZA
As one of the top digital banks regulated by the Bangko ng Sentral ng Pilpinas, UnionDigital is on a mission to boost financial literacy among Filipinos — guiding them on how to budget, save and even grow their earnings.
Helmed by president and CEO Henry Rhoel R. Aguda, UnionDigital is spearheading the digital banking revolution in the Philippines with its innovative services and campaigns. It even provides clients an added layer of security since, unlike many of its competitors, UnionDigital’s parent company is a full commercial bank (Unionbank) and is part of the Aboitiz Group of Companies.
“We’re agile and competitive, and since we’re part of UnionBank, we have the best compliance and posture. We have the traditional trust that people give to a normal bank,” starts off Aguda, who observes that more people are shifting from e-wallets to full-blown digital bank accounts these days for a number of reasons.
For one, digital banks enable users to avail themselves of loans online — a service that ordinary e-wallets simply cannot provide. “In UnionDigital, you will soon be able to get loans within three to four taps. It’s convenient and necessary, especially when you have an emergency,” he says.
Aguda, who served as CitySavings (UnionBank subsidiary) and UBX chairman, and UnionBank’s chief technology and operations and chief transformation officer, also explains how financial literacy can foster a mutually beneficial relationship between UnionDigital and its customers. “If the magtataho or barbecue vendor can borrow P500 and earn P1000 from the money we lent, then he would’ve learned leverage,” Aguda elaborates. “That is the best way of teaching financial literacy.”
UnionDigital is also introducing a measure called Customer Lifetime Prosperity, which tracks a person’s financial growth. Aguda stresses that it’s not enough for the digital bank to earn from their customers. It is also incumbent upon it to determine if they are becoming financially independent. “We need to track your progress. After we let you borrow P500, then you can proceed to borrow P10,000 given you earn P50,000 from it. Then, you can take out a motorcycle loan to improve the mobility of your business, and then you move up to borrowing a car and a house loan. This way, the bank enriches the lives of its customers.”
While digital banking is gaining ground to be more accessible to ordinary Filipinos, it still faces a number of obstacles that hinder its growth. The Philippines, for starters, is still bogged down by limited internet access and is hounded by security threats. How does UnionDigital address these issues?
Aguda says connectivity is an infrastructure issue. Leading the Private Security Council, Aguda and other key leaders in the industry are working with the government to increase the number of cell sites and fiber optics in the country.
For cyber security, Aguda notes digital banks are also collaborating with government agencies to implement tighter security measures to curb financial fraud. This collaboration will make digital banking safer and more secure.
Strengthening UnionDigital
Armed with a telecommunications background, one can say that Aguda, indeed, is in his element when leading startups and fintech companies. His prior experience from the telco sector and his accomplishments in UnionBank come in handy, especially as UnionDigital makes its mark in the local banking industry.
In CitySavings, he boosted the business’ reach across the masses through the approval of teacher and motorcycle loans using data science credit-scoring and acquisition models. He also catapulted UBX to be recognized as the fastest-rising fintech company during his time there. And before becoming CEO, he strengthened UnionDigital to complement traditional channels in 2022.
UnionBank is the “super app” for banking as one can pay bills, transfer funds, trade and invest. But for UnionDigital, it is called the “super embedded app” as it will integrate its banking services into other apps. UnionDigital has also partnered with Huawei to feature the app on its smartphones. “When you buy from Huawei, you will already have UnionDigital on your phone,” he says.
Leveraging AI
UnionDigital is quick to adapt to the times, leveraging AI in its operations. The digital bank, which won an award as one of the best digital lenders in the country, takes pride in its ability to credit score and balance lending portfolio, which is manned by the bank’s AI and data science team.
UnionDigital is soon launching a new solution that can dole out loans as quick as thirty seconds, telling customers how much they can borrow and calculate the interest rate—all powered by AI. At the start of the year, UnionDigital encouraged its management team to use ChatGPT, integrating it into its customer infrastructure.
With his wealth of experience and strong track record of bringing success in the banking industry, Aguda is steering not only UnionDigital but also securing the lives of every UnionDigital client into the future.
Photography by DIX PEREZ / Grooming by EDDIE MAR CABILTES
