Security Bank Corp. announced a strategic partnership with WIZ.AI, a regional leader in AI-powered voice automation, to accelerate its digital transformation and strengthen customer engagement.
The collaboration will embed intelligent automation across key service touchpoints, including collections, to modernize the bank’s operations.
By integrating WIZ.AI’s natural language processing (NLP) and voice automation technologies, Security Bank aims to boost efficiency accuracy and responsiveness while delivering more personalized customer experiences.
“At Security Bank, our mission has always been to provide BetterBanking—a promise rooted in understanding our customers’ needs and delivering solutions that make a real difference. With WIZ.AI, we aim to enhance our collections efficiency through seamless human-bot synergy,” said Balaji Vijayan, Security Bank senior vice president and retail and business banking risk management head.
This partnership is a key part of Security Bank’s digital transformation roadmap, which focuses on data-driven decision-making operational efficiency and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.
WIZ.AI founder and chief executive Jianfeng Lu said the partnership underscores the company’s commitment to empowering enterprises across Southeast Asia with secure scalable and human-like conversational AI.
Filipino SMEs cautious but optimistic for 2026
Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are approaching the future with caution, but maintain an optimistic outlook for the country’s business landscape in 2026, according to a recent survey by on-demand delivery platform Lalamove.
The survey of about 500 respondents, mostly micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), revealed that 61 percent of Filipino SMEs have a cautious but optimistic outlook for the country’s business landscape in 2026 compared to this year.
Despite this caution, 31 percent of respondents are looking forward to business prospects in 2026, while 22 percent said their outlook is unchanged and uncertain.
This careful optimism is driven by persistent challenges. A significant 83 percent of respondents anticipate that interest rate hikes and inflation will block business growth over the next 12 months.
Low consumer spending or fluctuations in customer demand are concerns for 82 percent of respondents, while 72 percent cited high logistics costs as a potential barrier to their business in 2026. These concerns reflect worries about how current uncertainties might affect profitability.
“At Lalamove, we value the insights of the many businesses we serve,” said Lalamove Philippines managing-director Djon Nacario.
