The only Phl bank in the Top 20

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has been ranked as the second most helpful bank in Asia-Pacific during the coronavirus crisis – the only Philippine bank in the top 20 list.

UnionBank was next only to KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest digital-only bank, according to the BankQuality Consumer Survey on Retail Banks – an online survey conducted last April 1-30, 2020 and covering total 11,000  respondents, with 1,000 each coming from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The respondents, aged between 18 to 65 and who have at least one bank account each, chose the banks most beneficial to them amid the ongoing pandemic because of their contactless nature and digital services.

UnionBank was ranked higher than international banks such as HSBC, Citibank, DBS, CIMB, United Overseas Bank and OCBC, among others.

UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista expressed gratitude for the public’s recognition of the bank’s quick, sincere and relentless efforts to help alleviate their plight in this difficult time.

“It warms our hearts to know that our customers recognize and value our heroic efforts during this crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world an unprecedented disruption, but with each of us doing our share, we will weather this challenge – no matter how massive it can be,” Bautista said.

Since the start of the quarantine period, UnionBank boosted its mobile and web banking platforms for retail and corporate customers namely UnionBank Online and The Portal, respectively, to enable clients to safely do their banking transactions from home.

UnionBank was also among the first banks to waive its online fund transfer fees, and deployed its Bank On Wheels to bring its bank branches at the doorstep of its customers.

“I would like to also thank our very hardworking and selfless UnionBankers –frontliners all – who have been doing their utmost during this pandemic to deliver safe, consistent and full service digital banking to our customers, for this accolade,” Bautista added.

The bank’s fintech arm UBX,has facilitated the release of cash subsidies through the deployment of mobile automated teller machines (ATMs) to its rural bank partners and financial cooperatives where beneficiaries of the government’s Social Amelioration Program can withdraw their money quickly.

UBX has also begun linking its rural bank members to its new network that includes Cebuana Lhuillier, LBC, Palawan Express and PeraHub.  This enables customers of these rural banks to send funds and payments to over 11,000 branches of the four remittance centers nationwide.