Aboitiz-led UnionBank of the Philippines has unveiled what is touted to be the country’s first mobile banking app customized for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), deemed as the backbone of the domestic economy.
The “moonshot” goal of the bank is to bring onboard about one million MSMEs to its various platforms in the coming years.
“It’s an ambitious number but we believe it is doable,” UnionBank president Edwin Bautista said at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that the launch of the latest mobile app for MSMEs was part of the bank’s contribution to “tech up” the Philippines.
UnionBank currently has 175,000 MSMEs in this space. MSMEs typically refer to businesses with assets below P10 million.
The SME Business Banking App by UnionBank is a one-stop hub for all financial-related needs of MSMEs. Through the app, clients can open business checking accounts for half the time it normally takes, allowing them to get access to online banking faster.
“They can do their basic banking transactions, link to our platforms. They can open their online stores, track inventory, apply for loans and so forth,” Bautista said.
The app, for instance, links to SeekCap, an online lending marketplace allowing Filipino business owners to access credit fast and easy. Loan applications through SeekCap can be initially approved the same day, which means that the documents submitted are still subject to review, and only until then will the disbursement take place.
Currently, SeekCap offers business loans from UnionBank, Esquire Finance Inc., Zenith Capital Credit Group, Right Choice Finance Inc., SeedIn Technology, RAFI Micro-Finance and Bangko Kabayan.
The app is also linked to UnionBank’s GlobalLinker, a one-stop hub digital platform for business owners to manage their inventory, teams, knowledge and networks all in one single hub.
The platform was described as “user-intuitive” and tailor-fit to how SMEs want to run their business. In the future, the app will also enable foreign exchange services. INQ