Netbank and UBX announce partnership to extend loans to small businesses selling on e-commerce platforms.

Partnership is the latest example of cooperation between the two leaders in embedded finance and open finance in the Philippines.

Netbank and UBX have signed an agreement to issue loans to sellers on ecommerce platforms and started to issue these loans. Netbank expects to rapidly expand its lending to e-commerce sellers in the next year.

Many sellers on e-commerce platforms require additional working capital to expand their sales. Few banks are willing to work with these sellers, however, since they don't have collateral.

Netbank, by working with UBX’s lending platform SeekCap, is able to gather detailed information on the sellers, which it can rely on for its underwriting. This includes data on the sales and performance record of the sellers on the e-commerce platforms. In addition, since Netbank has developed a range of virtual account and payment tools, it can ensure these loans are 'self-liquidating', further reducing credit risk. This allows Netbank to offer e-commerce sellers a loan at considerably lower cost than other lenders.

"We are excited to expand our partnership with UBX into loans, focusing on companies driving the new economy. E-commerce platforms provide an opportunity to many small and micro enterprises across the country; we are proud to help these businesses grow", said Gus Poston, co-founder of Netbank.

This is the latest partnership between Netbank and UBX; Netbank is also providing a range of payment and account services to UBX, accelerating the expansion of open / embedded finance in the Philippines. This allows it to achieve its mission of facilitating high quality financial services to the people and companies that are driving growth in the country.

"MSMEs comprise the majority of the businesses in the Philippines. Yet, a significant portion of them remain underserved. With the advancement of new technology and innovative methods, SeekCap has made great strides in making financing more inclusive. Our partnership with Netbank to serve e-commerce sellers is an important step in fulfilling our goal to make safe, secure, and affordable financing more accessible. We are looking forward to it!” said Mario Jordan Fetalino, UBX Business Lead for Lending.

Netbank looks forward to expanding its lending to sellers on multiple other platforms, as part of its program to provide a complete package of financial services to the new Filipino economy.