FINANCIAL INCLUSION. Union Bank of the Philippines chief information officer Dennis Omila said the government's financial inclusion bid is a key factor in their goal to further improve their Information technology (IT) system. He said Filipinos have noted the benefits of digital financial transactions during the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Unionbank)
MANILA – The government’s financial inclusion bid is among the factors for a financial institution’s move to fully migrate its information technology (IT) system to cloud technology to provide service to those living in far-flung areas.
In a virtual briefing Wednesday, Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank) chief information officer Dennis Omila said the bank is committed to being the leading digital bank in the country thus the shift will further hasten its digital transformation and help in the government’s financial inclusion goal by bringing financial service even to remote areas.
“It’s not so much about the competition with other banks. I think, to me, it’s about really being able to serve the Filipinos better. The aspiration is to help the Filipinos because if we’re getting more digital transactions, the way we look at it is they’re safer. They are not risking their lives going out, getting cash, going somewhere to pay their bills but they are doing it in the comfort of their homes,” he said.
Omila said they aim to register over a million digital account openings this year, banking on Filipinos’ recognition of the importance of digital transactions during the pandemic.
He said account openings before the pandemic averaged around 250 per day but it has risen to around 1,200 daily during the pandemic because of digital account openings.
Omila added they see the numbers rising further as the public experience the convenience of digital financial transactions.
He said digital financial transactions have risen since the start of the pandemic, with transactions using InstaPay and PESONet, surpassing those of using automated teller machines (ATMs).
InstaPay and PESONet are the two clearing houses under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ National Retail Payment System program that got a big boost since the start of the pandemic last year. (PNA)
