UnionBank wins
big at the 2021 Asian Technology Excellence Awards
The bank secured the Philippines
Technology Excellence Awards for E-Commerce - Financial Technology and AI -
Financial Technology categories.
UnionBank once
again proved to be the Philippines’ leading digital trailblazer after winning
awards for E-Commerce - Financial Technology and AI – Financial Technology
categories at the Asian Technology Excellence Awards 2021. The bank was
recognised for its responsive efforts to assist e-commerce of micro, small, and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the pandemic.
The bank won
their E-Commerce - Financial Technology award for the successful launch of
the Sentro Online Store Builder, a project aimed to help Philippine MSMEs
launch their own online stores in the fastest and easiest way possible. The
said project was conceptualized by the Bank’s fintech spinoff UBX, before the
pandemic hit in 2019, but became more timely as more businesses moved their
transactions online.
“When the
pandemic hit, going online was no longer an option but a necessity. We decided
to push our launch up as we knew that the Philippines needed us more than
ever,” said John Januszczak, UBX President and CEO.
The key
features of Sentro Online Store Builder were the integration of payment and
logistic services to its banking features. These features enabled its users to
have a smoother deal within the platform and have their transactions monitored
in just one system.
“We made sure
to pre-integrate payments and logistics services into Sentro so MSMEs would not
have to think about who and how to integrate these necessary services. Because
of our intimate understanding of the pain points of MSMEs, we were able to
quickly sign up over 30,000 users,” Januszczak explained.
UBX aims to
follow through with the initial success of the project and plans to add more
logistics partners. It also aims to launch a Marketplace that comprises all
stores built on the Sentro platform.
UBX also
recognised that the success of the project for small scale enterprises could be
replicated and multiplied on a larger scale. This moved the company into
helping the Philippines’ first Wedding Expo Organizer, Themes, and Motifs, take
their physical expos online. The positive outcome of the expo then led to the
launch of TheBridalMarketplace.com – The First and Only Wedding Marketplace in
the Philippines.
“We soon
realized that it was not just MSMEs that needed help going online. Larger
enterprises, such as mall operators, event organizers, professional
associations and many more, needed their businesses to get online... We
currently have a long pipeline of businesses looking to launch their own
marketplaces and we plan to go live with several more before year-end,” UBX
said.
Meanwhile, the
second award of UnionBank for the AI - Financial Technology category was
earned for their innovative approach in revamping loan processing in the
country through the SeekCap Alternative Credit Scoring Model.
SeekCap uses a
technologically advanced credit scoring system that integrates the use of
artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a risk-based lending
approach. For UnionBank, this new system is the future of banking and shall
overcome traditional limitations of the past. Through the implementation of
this innovative system, UnionBank was able to manage risks better and offer
loans in a more efficient manner to a wider range of individuals and small
businesses—that profoundly needed lifelines during the uncertain pandemic
economy.
“Most of the
time, traditional credit and risk assessment methods simply assess loan
applicants using hard-coded, preset rules, sometimes unfairly ruling out
potential loan prospects. This is why we developed the new AI-powered credit
scoring models. These credit scoring models intelligently and autonomously go
through the application, alternative, and external data to create a more
holistic, comprehensive profile of loan applicants with insights into customer
behavior and needs,” said David Hardoon, UnionBank’s Senior Advisor for
Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Hardoon
explained that SeekCap helped both parties in multiple ways. It not only
empowered previously underserved groups to have access to products and services
that were not available through older conventional means, but it also increased
the rate of efficiency of the banking process.
“Our new model
is now giving us a monthly average approval rate of 54% - nearly double the
performance of our old process. Overall, our loans services have generated
over US$5 million (over P280 million) in new loans with low delinquency
rates. In terms of customer experience, the loan approval process can take
as short as one day if no issue is found in the application,” Hardoon
explained.
UnionBank will
receive the awards at the 2021 Technology Excellence Awards, the most
prestigious awards programme in the region dedicated to technological projects
and innovations. The award-giving body aims to recognise exceptional companies
that are riding the digital disruption wave and leading the technological
revolution and digital transformation journeys in their respective industries.