UnionBank rolls out “Bank on Wheels” in Cebu to help typhoon-affected customers

In a bid to aid the victims of Typhoon Odette in their journey toward recovery, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently deployed its "Bank on Wheels" (BOW) mobile banking facility in Cebu, to provide customers with easy access to much needed basic financial services.

BOW is UnionBank's 5G-capable banking kiosk in a van, designed to bring the Bank's trailblazing technology and innovation directly to its customers. It is a mobile version of its first-in-industry fully digital banking branch, The ARK, allowing customers to experience the features of the said branch potentially anywhere in the country.

Cebu residents were able to use the automatic teller machine (ATM) inside the kiosk that enabled them (UnionBank cardholders) to do balance inquiry, withdrawal, funds transfer, and bills payment transactions. Non-UnionBank cardholders were able make balance inquiry and withdraw cash.

With the cash recycler machine (CRM) also inside the kiosk, the Cebuano UnionBank customers were in addition to the transactions mentioned earlier, were able to do card-less withdrawal as well as cash deposit for both carded and card-less transactions. Non-UnionBank cardholders, on the other hand, were able to do balance inquiries and cash withdrawals.

Sustainability requires diversity, people-profit balance, says UnionBank’s transformative leader

As companies commit to sustainability, diversity and balance are among the most important focus areas that they must prioritize. This was highlighted by UnionBank during the recently concluded CBRE Connect Series’ Perspective in Leadership Webinar: Navigating through Challenges & Uncertainty.

Panelist Henry R. Aguda, UnionBank Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, and Chief Transformation Officer, shared insights on the challenges and rewards of leadership in a fast-growing industry; and the significance of innovation, reinvention, and resilience amid crises.

Aguda related that for UnionBank, digital transformation is not an end goal, but more of a means for people within the organization to be able to connect with each other, and ultimately, with the Bank's customers and stakeholders. More so, the Bank considers diversity as key to establishing a stronger connection, over and above being a necessary component of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts.

"When you talk about connection, it's all about people. UnionBank has been known as a digital bank but actually, we're more of a people organization, and diversity is big on our agenda. It's something that we feel is also a key part of ESG. But beyond ESG, we believe in diversity in an organization."

Priority for AI implementation should be trust, not regulation – UnionBank data science, AI expert

Dr. David Hardoon, UnionBank Senior Adviser for Data & Artificial Intelligence, was recently invited to discuss his views on data science and artificial intelligence (AI) at an EFMA Sustainability & Regulation Community Best Practice Forum. 

The Data & AI expert believes that “regulating AI is the wrong goalpost,” arguing that the objective must be safety first and equality, promoting trust in the technology. Adding that there are safety nets to mitigate the risks associated with it. 

"Data, and to an extent, the AI as a mechanism and tool which manifests possibilities out of data, is an onion,” Hardoon said. "And what you find with this onion is that it's not just about data. It's not just about application. It's not just about consumer engagement. It's also about history. It's also about our understanding of our own current behavior. It's essentially opening up an immense view that potentially, previously, we were completely unaware of.”

Dr. Hardoon explains that AI may broken down to at least three buckets. First is data, which may be historically good or bad as it is a genuine representation of issues or errors that happened in the past or may happen moving forward. Then there is the AI system itself, specifically the approach of extracting information from the available data. And finally, there is the operationalization of the information that comes out.

EastWest fully vaccinates employees as it concludes FilVax program

EastWest’s FilVax organizing team pose for a group shot after a busy day at the FilVax vaccination supersite in Festival Mall, Alabang.

EastWest employees get their second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

EastWest announces that it has successfully vaccinated its employees, consultants, and third-party hires, as well as non-affiliated individuals, as it completes its FilVax vaccination program this month.

The FilVax vaccination program, a joint initiative by EastWest and parent company Filinvest Development Corporation saw regional legs established in various areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, starting with the Filinvest Mega Vaccination Center at the Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Meet Today's Agents Of Change

Students hacked their way into helping Filipinos live healthier, longer, better lives  with AIA Life Hackers 2021!

Almost 1,200 students all over the country recently came together virtually to help AIA Philippines explore new ideas on how to make Filipinos live healthier, longer, and better lives through AIA Life Hackers 2021.

Now on its third year, Life Hackers is a virtual hackfest aimed to drive the company’s relevance in young people’s lives and create meaningful connections with them. In turn, the youth are empowered to become agents of change through their proposed creative and innovative solutions which will improve the lives of many Filipinos through life insurance. 

Undergraduate college students from nearly 30 schools in the Philippines signed up and joined the competition. Each were tasked to submit a proposal under three categories: Technology or Data Solution, Marketing Solution, or Product/Service solutions. 

PSBank helps provide a brighter future to underprivileged children through its CSR partners

Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) renews support for the welfare of visually impaired, indigent and special children through the Bank’s annual donation to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) partners -- World Vision, Chosen Children Village Foundation, Inc. (CCVFI), and Resources for the Blind, Inc. (RBI).

PSBank donated a total of PhP300,000 to aid these three child-friendly organizations in providing shelter, basic necessities, education, and other special needs for the underprivileged children under their care.

World Vision commits in using the financial assistance to continue their programs for the welfare of underserved Filipino families. The organization spearheads community development initiatives and helps parents find a source of livelihood to better support their kids. They also provide emergency assistance to those affected by natural disasters.

UnionBank TECH LEAD: Building high-tech and high-touch talents

Multi-awarded Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has expanded its graduate program, L.E.A.D. (Leader Executive Accelerated Development) by introducing TechLEAD – a program focused on developing technical talent to become leaders of tomorrow. 

The Bank’s initial LEAD Program, established in 2009, is a fast-track and accelerated curriculum designed to provide its management trainees or LEADs with a 6 to 7-year training and job experiences. The aim is to prepare and enable the individuals to contribute to UnionBank’s and their respective career goals. The course also equips the LEADs for the next significant step-up in the organization. 

The LEADs undergo a 24-month rotation within a specialization area to immerse them to end-to-end processes, i.e., front, middle, and back office to hone the trainees’ people-leading and people-managing skills.