Travel smart: preparing for your first Europe adventure

Going on your first trip to Europe could be an overwhelming experience. From saving up, booking your flights and accommodations, and planning your itinerary, to navigating customs regulations and dealing with unexpected situations, there are many things to consider and plan for.

While preparing for your first Eurotrip may feel like a daunting task, there are a lot of things to look forward to. Traveling is an exciting opportunity to experience new cultures, meet new people, and create lasting memories with your loved ones.

Waste Wanted: CitySavings Turns Donated Plastic into School Chairs

City Savings Bank (CitySavings), the thrift bank subsidiary of the Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), makes supporting public schools more sustainable through its initiative, Turning Plastic into School Chairs.

Spearheaded by the Bank’s Branch Operations and Human Resources teams, the goal was to collect as much plastic waste from the employees in a month. The recycling drive gathered almost 2,000 kilograms of waste plastic from CitySavings branches and corporate offices nationwide. These were then turned over to Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc, a company based in Davao City, which produced the school chairs, each made out of 30 kilograms of plastic waste, at a discounted rate.

The Asset: UnionBank only local bank in Asia to win “Digital Bank of the Year” 6 years in a row!

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has consistently proven itself to be the undisputed digital leader in the country’s banking industry. Its recent win of an unprecedented sixth consecutive “Digital Bank of the Year” award from renowned financial news and research publication The Asset Triple A is proof that UnionBank has indeed established a Digital Dynasty in the Philippine banking industry.

“Digital transformation has been a mantra at the bank and what's behind its rapid growth these past years. With a strong focus on client experience, embracing innovation, and delivering better outcomes, UnionBank has altered mindsets to become the winning digital bank in the Philippines. A testament to that was its success in acquiring Citi Philippines' consumer banking business, which was completed less than a year following its winning bid at the end of 2021. With the integration firmly underway, the bank has set the stage for its next phase of growth expanding its market share and staying ahead of the competition,” said Daniel Yu, The Asset’s editor-in-chief.

Investree Philippines marks third anniversary, celebrates notable growth of SMEs served

Investree Philippines marks its third anniversary with a new high after recording a 2,500 percent increase in the number of SMEs served since its launch in 2020. In celebration of this milestone, the first crowdfunding intermediary and funding platform in the Philippines has launched its SME: The Heart of Investree campaign, which bolsters the group’s mission to improve the accessibility and affordability of working capital for small and medium businesses in the country.

UnionBank Techs Up Taguig with UPAY

The city government of Taguig is the latest local government to be “Tech’d Up” by UnionBank as it embarks on a project meant to better serve its citizens by digitizing tax payments. Last April 23rd, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signing ceremony held in Taguig, forged the partnership between the city and the tech-savvy bank.

In attendance were key Taguig City officials Mayor Lani Cayetano, City Administrator Atty. Jose Montales, and City Business Permit and Licensing Office Officer-in-Charge Atty. Maria Veloso. UnionBank was represented by Chief Financial Officer Manuel Lozano, Executive Vice President and Head of Transaction Banking and Platform Development Ramon Duarte, and Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Banking Nino Fajardo.

Under the partnership, UnionBank will enable digital transactions for a number of the City's services, including payment of taxes and other fees and charges, through UPAY, the Bank's proprietary payments solution that brings together a wide array of payment methods into a single integrated platform.

"The City of Taguig is committed to providing efficient and reliable services to our constituents. With the increasing digitization of our world, electronic payment acceptance facilities have become a vital part of making transactions more convenient to taxpayers," said Mayor Cayetano.

The Best Time for Home Repairs is Now

The hot summer months are here! Now is the best time for you to plan house repairs. Does your roof have a leak from last year that needs to be fixed, or do you need to replace broken doors? Or perhaps you want to repaint your entire house?

No matter what house repairs you need, it is important to plan everything in advance. This means that you know the scope of repairs needed, have the funds you need for the project, and know who to work with. Here are some things to remember when planning for home repairs or improvement:

UnionBank Powers Iloilo SME Summit

The Rotary Club of Iloilo South, together with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Iloilo Local Government, St. Clements Academy Class of 1977 in partnership with UnionBank, recently held the "Enterprise Growth through Digital Transformation." - a summit for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the Iloilo Convention Center.  The well-attended summit brought together over 1000 SMEs, government agencies, student entrepreneurs and communicators, and various stakeholders from the business community.