Union Bank of the Philippines helps micro, small and medium enterprises pivot to the digital space by innovating financing solutions. It recently introduced UPay, a one-stop hub that helps MSMEs manage cash flows, get access to financing and utilize an all-in-one payment facility remotely.
“Although the pandemic has caused a major change in the MSME business landscape, it has also brought much attention to them. For us at Union Bank, we have a greater purpose of empowering our MSMEs to uplift the businesses, because we believe that financial inclusion is closely connected with economic prosperity. By extending our banking and beyond banking services MSMEs can be digitally transformed, and be able to thrive in the new normal,” said UnionBank executive vice president and chief mass market and financial inclusion executive Manuel Santiago.
As early as 2018, UnionBank started to develop a platform for MSMEs. The financial platform was designed to address all major pain points of the MSMEs in their quest to transform their businesses. UnionBank identified these pain points as getting started in the online digital space; access to financing; and managing cash flows and enabling payments for goods and services.
To address the pain points, UnionBank created the MSME business hub, a holistic solution to support the needs of the MSME. With the launch of UPay, an all-in-one payment acceptance hub, UnionBank completes its portfolio of comprehensive products and services catering to the banking needs of the MSME sector.
UPay is embedded within the business banking app, Santiago said. Initially, this provides the capability to send requests and collect payments through UnionBank Online. This allows MSMEs to skip through the hassle of having to give their bank details, total amount, and manually typing the description of the order and sending it to customers through a messaging app.
With the addition of UPay, UnionBank builds on its robust MSME platform that caters to MSMEs and their every need. Unionbank GlobalLinker allows them to build their online store profile and promote their products. UBGL also allows them to connect with fellow business owners, get tips from successful entrepreneurs through workshops and events, and find access to market trends, industry updates and shared experiences of other businesses.
“Soon, we will provide additional channels from InstaPay for file transfers, e-wallets such as GCash and GrabPay, credit and debit cards. Adding up to these are over 50,000 over the counter payment locations such as Bayad Center, 7-11 stores, Cebuana, just to name a few.. We will also be making available an online checkout facility which provides all these payment options to those that have online stores. UPAY for MSMEs will provide efficient and convenient way for MSMEs to accept payments, since it provides multiple payment options, normally not available to them,” Santiago said.
UnionBank also proudly announced the creation of the MSME Business Banking App, a single platform that lets MSMEs access and manage finance-related needs including digital account opening, paying bills, deposit checks online, and pay supplier and government related dues. The Business Banking App is also tied to SeekCap, a platform where business loans and supply chain financing are easily accessible to Filipino business owners for credits and payments, 24/7.
“The MSME business banking app is a platform to access and manage their financial related needs, whether it be paying bills, paying suppliers or even being government transactions with BIR, SSS, Philhealth and PAG-IBIG. Just as I mentioned opening an account is easy, they can open an account digitally, without having to go to a branch. Enabling and receiving payments for their sale transaction is the fourth pain point. They need to expand their payment from cash payments,” Santiago said.
With the MSME Business Banking Hub, UnionBank aims to continue to reach out to the country’s one million registered enterprises and 12 million self-employed micro entrepreneurs to help empower them further as they embark on their journey to recovery. With the addition of UPay, the transition from pre-pandemic brick and mortar to fully digital business is now possible alongside UBGL, MSME Business Banking App, and SeekCap which are designed to be tailor-fitted for every MSME.
UnionBank senior vice president and center head of consumer finance Ana Delgado said the bank continues to go back to the fundamentals to understand who are the MSMEs are as people and as a segment of UnionBank’s expanding clientele.
She said that many MSMEs need mentoring and tutoring on how to ride the waves of digitalization.
“That goes back to UnionBank’s thrust that starts with understanding our customer needs. We look at them and have met and spoken to many of them over the pandemic –why many of them are experiencing difficulty with digitization. But also some of them are actually struggling with how to pay back loans if their cash flow is disrupted, how they can take out other loans to fund digitization efforts. We actually have been proactive about that in the bank and we have different venues, different modes of providing mentoring to them. One is through different trainings that we've conducted over zoom, and in partnership with different government entities and private entities,” she said.
“Union Bank was ready to help our customers thrive in this new environment. This was because we embarked on our digital transformation early on. It allowed us to build business models for the digital age, by changing both how we do things and what we do in our quest to become the best retail Bank of the Philippines. We have been championing the mission to deliver superior and seamless customer experiences. We do this by keeping our customers needs front and center. When we design our solutions and leverage people and technology to make this happen. The fruit of our hard work has paid off, as we are transforming the lives of millions of Filipinos through our products and services,” she said.
In the last 18 months, the bank saw a tremendous growth in the digital economy with businesses, large and small, redefining how they reach out to deliver services and goods to their customers. Businesses had learn to build digital propositions and had to adapt to new ways of marketing and doing business.
“MSMEs are the backbone of the Philippine economy and their success is crucial especially amid challenging instances like the current pandemic. That being said, we want to make sure that every MSME goes to us for their digital and financial needs because we believe that we always come prepared with the right solution and answer for them when they do,” Santiago said.