GCash enables young professionals, MSMEs to unlock financial goals

GCash, the Philippines’ number one financial super app, is enabling young professionals and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to unlock their financial goals through the many accessible digital financial services it offers like savings, loans, insurance, and even investments.

GCash recently shared that young professionals are becoming more independent, budget conscious, and open to trying simple ways to earn more while owners of MSMEs struggle to find accessible financing to expand their business and reach more customers.

Overseas Filipino Workers get a chance to win up to PHP 500,000 with Pru Life UK

Pru Life UK rewards OFWs in achieving their financial goals and securing a better future for their families.

Leading life insurer Pru Life UK is giving Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) an opportunity to win up to PHP 500,000 with the Balikbayan Raffle-PRUTektadong OFW Special.

To join, interested OFWs can earn one raffle entry by simply signing up via www.PRUTektadongOFW.com for a free virtual financial consultation with a Pru Life UK agent once they are back in the Philippines. OFWs will be guided on how to set and achieve their financial goals, manage their finances better, and get tips on how to secure their families’ future.

UBX introduces startup mixer; zeroes in on collaboration, building alliances

UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, has mounted its first regular mixer event, bringing in founders, industry players, venture capitalists, and investors together in a bid to hasten the development of the local startup scene.

Called the UBX Lounge 48 Mixer, UBX organizes the quarterly social gathering together with communities and organizations like JCI Manila, Alike Community, and Fintech Alliance to allow startups to meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas and initiatives over good food and drinks. 

“The key to getting through the ever changing business landscape globally is to be open and to collaborate. We are all part of one ecosystem that supports each other. It is important that we continuously engage and collaborate with the community,” UBX President John Januszczak said. 

BPI SEAL empowers micro and small enterprises for sustainable growth

BPI Foundation extends opportunities to micro and small enterprises through its new program, SEAL-SEGA.

BPI Foundation, the social development arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) today, launched a program for the development of local micro and small enterprises (MSEs) called BPI Small Enterprise Acceleration Lab (SEAL), with its first track, Small Enterprise Growth Agenda (SEGA), in partnership with Bayan Academy.  

Allianz PNB Life is PH’s fastest growing insurance company

Allianz PNB Life continues to be the country’s fastest-growing life insurance company, evident through the remarkable numbers shown in its 2021 Annual Report.

The company has announced that its total premium income in 2021 reached ₱30 billion, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic on the company and the economic difficulties that plagued the Philippines because of protracted lockdowns and other community quarantine restrictions throughout 2020 and 2021. 

Allianz PNB Life was also able to maintain this strong performance for the second year in a row and according to its 2021 Annual Report, the company is also among the top five companies that provide life and health insurance in the Philippines.

Home Credit launches “Para sa Life” campaign with new song performed by Moira dela Torre

Home Credit deepens its commitment to Filipino consumers in pursuing life’s dreams through “Para sa Life"

Home Credit Philippines (HCPH), the country’s leading consumer finance company, launches “Para sa Life” campaign that shares a message of hope for a better life for Filipinos. This new initiative of Home Credit is launched through a campaign video with a song performed by Filipino singer-songwriter Moira dela Torre.

With the hope to inspire new beginnings, Home Credit positions itself as a reliable financial partner that assists Filipinos as they begin a new chapter in life. Apart from providing financial assistance and literacy, Home Credit aims to empower Filipinos to claim what they deserve and to jump-start a new life through various opportunities they offer.

UBX doubles down on insurtech, introduces integrated employee benefit financial wellness ecosystem in SG

UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, is doubling down its focus on insurance technology (insurtech), introducing an integrated employee financial wellness benefits ecosystem in Singapore. 

During the Insuretech Connect Asia conference in Singapore, UBX Head of Business Development for Insurance Marc Gorospe formally introduced UBX’s Employee Benefits Platform, an integrated employee benefit financial wellness ecosystem that equips employees with financial tools and services, while also empowering companies to streamline their employee benefits, processes, and initiatives in one single platform.

Introduced in the Philippines earlier this year, the platform is an online portal that distributes, manages, and supports financial resilience and wellness through tools that allow employees to manage their finances and enable employers to efficiently conduct human resource (HR) practices.

“We are honored to be part of Insuretech Connect, the largest global gathering of innovators, industry players, and investors in the insurtech arena. We believe that introducing UBX’s Financial Wellness Employee Benefits Program during this conference is the best avenue for UBX to launch its first open finance product in Singapore,” Gorospe said. 

AXA Philippines commemorates IDAHOBIT in support of the LGBTQIA+ community

As a company that values diversity and inclusion as a strong and integral part of its culture, AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, held a panel discussion with its employees to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) this year with the theme, “Our Bodies, Our Rights, Our Lives.” This is in time for Pride Month and in line with AXA’s continued commitment to fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community by standing up and speaking out against hate, discrimination, and violence.

Allianz PNB Life officially launches new insurance campaign, advocates for financial empowerment among youth in recent webinar

Allianz PNB Life continues to champion financial literacy and empowerment, this time among the Filipino youth, by coming out with a webinar entitled “Add to Life Bago Add to Cart: How to Protect and Enjoy your Adult Life”. The webinar was held last May 20, Friday, via Zoom.

The webinar was hosted by Harmony Adiao, with entrepreneur, social media creator, and beauty queen Ayn Bernos and Allianz PNB Life Lead for Agency Transformation Melissa Del Rosario as keynote speakers. Allianz PNB Life President and CEO Alexander Grenz also took part by opening the webinar with his insights on the growth of the company, and what the company plans to do to help Filipinos in securing their future.

“Our vision has always been to become the insurance partner of choice for Filipinos throughout their life journey. This vision remains relevant more than ever,” said Grenz. “Fortunately, there is a greater awareness of the importance of having adequate protection among households, and we are more than ready to respond to such needs.” 

UBX, Unit 256 partner to future-proof Fine Arts in the Philippines via NFTs

UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Unit 256 Ventures Inc. to co-develop Artifract.io, a platform that democratizes Fine Arts ownership by fractionalizing them as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Artifract.io aims to make art more accessible to collectors and enthusiasts, as well as ordinary individuals who are interested in Fine Arts. Through the platform, art institutes that hold exclusive collections can showcase these by making their NFT versions available for purchase in tiles -- staying true to art democratization. Fractionalizing is the process of breaking an NFT into smaller licensed pieces. For instance, an artwork can be broken down into multiple digital grids and each grid can be owned by a different owner. 

AXA Philippines and GrowSari offer free insurance to sari-sari store owners

AXA Philippines and GrowSari representatives during the memorandum of agreement signing. The partnership will offer free life insurance and a Daily Hospital Income benefit for Gold members of GrowSari’s Loyalty Program.

Many small businesses like sari-sari stores are constantly at risk of encountering financial challenges. According to the World Bank, at least 81 percent of informal retailers like sari-sari stores suffered job losses at the height of the pandemic in 2020. With a relatively small capital, which they use to sustain daily operations, these micro enterprises are badly affected when the owner gets sick or hospitalized, especially when this is their main source of income.

GCash breaches P500B gross transaction value in March 2022, sees sustained growth

GCash has sustained its market dominance as the country’s number one finance app, breaching the P500-billion mark in Gross Transaction Value in March 2022 alone.

GCash user engagement continues to thrive even as the world opens up, showing that it has become a major part of people’s everyday lives. Active GCash users are now 5x larger than the next e-wallet, with daily logins and transactions of up to 29 million and 19 million, respectively.

Eighty-three percent of the Philippine adult population, or 60 million Filipinos, already have a GCash account, further inspiring the popular e-wallet platform to look for more innovative solutions to address various financial needs of the public.

A Beacon in the City of Stars: Why Glam Residences Is Quezon City’s Brightest Investment

A rosy outlook is seen in the real estate sector as the Philippine economy enters a period of more robust level of activity. While the pandemic inevitably reshaped the real estate landscape in terms of new buyer considerations and product formats, it remains the most reliable store of value for those looking to protect and grow their money. 

Opportunities certainly come plenty with the economic rebound, improved business and consumer confidence, and increasing overseas Filipino workers’ remittances. For the residential sector, particularly for the Metro Manila market, none can deliver a more reliable value proposition like SM Development Corporation (SMDC)’s Glam Residences. Yet what makes this dazzling high-rise development one of the brightest stars in Quezon City, and why is it the wisest choice for those looking to place their money in real estate?

ING Philippines launches security education campaign – #SimplySecuredWithING

Security and frictionless banking experience go hand-in-hand at ING

Campaign seeks to inform and collaborate with customers on keeping accounts safe

Digital banking, especially via mobile devices, is quickly becoming the top-of-mind mode of transactions for many Filipinos. While it is highly associated with ‘speed’, ‘convenience’ and ‘ease of use’ among its users, digital banking is often seen as ‘less safe’ and could be more prone to hacking and fraud.

Conventional ways of ensuring account security, such as complex password, is no longer a guarantee from hacking, nor does ownership of a smartphone immediately imply that the user is familiar with technology or any of the jargons it comes with. 

Father’s Day Gifts for every type of Dad

From gas to groceries, there’s an EastWest credit card promo for Dad

Some Dads love cracking cute and corny jokes, some are more serious, some offer valuable wisdom and guidance, and some show real life lessons. But they all have one thing in common, they’re our rock, our provider, the pillar of our home.

That’s why you should make them feel special this Father’s Day by giving them something they’ll love. Fortunately, there are EastWest exclusives you can avail of for every type of Dad:

For the Dad who loves to travel

Fuel his passion and help him go the distance with a full tank from Unioil. With your EastWest credit card, get up to Php4.00 off per liter. Here’s your chance to give back for driving you to places you need to go—with gas prices at an all-time high, this goes a long way in keeping the motor running.

The promo is valid at participating Unioil branches that accept credit card payments and will run until November 14, 2022.

UnionBank raises ₱11 billion in maiden digital peso bonds

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) successfully issued the country’s first-ever offering of digital peso bonds, raising an aggregate issue size of ₱11 billion. Despite the volatile rate backdrop, the robust participation from retail and institutional investors resulted to an order book eleven times its initial minimum offer size of ₱1 billion. 

A first for the Philippines, this digital public bond offering and issuance marks a milestone and the success of this Proof of Concept (POC) paves the way for future utilization of Distributed Ledger / Blockchain Technology towards more automated and operationally efficient local capital markets. The digital bonds were issued through the digital registry and digital depository of the Phil. Depository & Trust Corp. (PDTC) utilizing infrastructure powered by #STACS blockchain and which new digital infrastructure was kept interoperable with the traditional trading to clearing infrastructure of the Phil. Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) Fixed Income Market. 

Unionbank Approves Largest Number of Executive Promotons, ANA Aboitiz-Delgado Leads The Pack As Senior Executive Vice-President

The Board of Directors of Union Bank of the Philippines at its meeting on May 27, 2022, approved and confirmed the largest number of Executive Promotions ever done by the Bank with a total of 74 executive officers.

Leading the newly-promoted executive officers is fifth-generation business leader Ana Aboitiz-Delgado, from Executive Vice President to Senior Executive Vice President effective June 1, 2022. As the Bank's Chief Customer Experience Officer and Chief Digital Channel Officer, Delgado took great strides in growing UnionBank Online in terms of user base and features, transforming and re-branding of branches even during the pandemic, and creating the business models for self-service branches and Corporate Ark. She is key in the seamless signing of the game-changing deal between Citi and UnionBank last December 2021 and is now at the forefront of ongoing integration of both banks. She is a recipient of Asia's Top Outstanding Women Marketeer of the Year 2020 from the Asia Marketing Federation. With Delgado as CX chief, UnionBank was named Best Bank for Customer Experience in Southeast Asia 2022 and 2021 by Global Brands Magazine.

Home Credit wins Privacy Management Program Award at NPC’s PAW Awards 2022

From L-R, Dug Christopher Mah, NPC Deputy Privacy Commissioner; John Henry Naga, NPC Privacy Commissioner; Rejyl Siang, HCPH Chief Compliance Officer; Leandro Angelo Aguirre, NPC Deputy Privacy Commissioner and Ivin Ronald Alzona, NPC Executive Director.

Home Credit Philippines (HCPH), the leading global consumer finance company in the country, wins the Privacy Management Program Award for Non-bank Financial Sector during the National Privacy Commission’s Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) Awards 2022.

Leading this project to continue building customer and other stakeholder trust and protection is Atty. Reiyl Siang, HCPH’s Data Protection Officer, also a finalist for the Data Protection Officer of the Year. During the first day of NPC’s PAW celebration, he was also a discussant speaking on the importance of transparency in establishing trust in online lending.

ECCP looking forward to working with new government to develop Open Finance, promote financial inclusion

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ (ECCP) Special Committee on Open Finance and Financial Inclusion (SCOFFI) will support the new administration’s initiatives to promote financial inclusion and open finance. 

By reducing transaction costs through consent-driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships among financial institutions and third-party providers (TPPs), open finance seeks to provide customers with a better banking experience. 

Under open finance, industry players are able to create customer-centric products and provide better access to critical financial services such as savings, insurance, and credit.