UCPB sees continued card usage growth

UNITED COCONUT Planters Bank (UCPB) expects card usage to grow further as electronic payment adoption in the country increases.
“We see a continuing increase in card usage as e-payments continue to gain traction in the country,” UCPB Marketing Group Head Charina C. De La Cruz-Balanquit was quoted as saying in a statement.
The state-owned bank attributed the rise in digital payments to the popularity of online shopping websites, as well as mobile applications such as Grab.
Banks have been enhancing its electronic banking system, in line with the central bank’s push to promote the shift into a “cash-lite” economy where financial transactions veer away from cash and check and toward electronic fund transfers and digital wallets.
The main goal is to raise the share of electronic payments to 20% of total transactions by 2020, coming from a measly 1% share in 2013 as the economy remains reliant on cash.
Ms. De La Cruz-Balanquit said UCPB will continue to enhance its card offering in 2019 in partnership with Visa, as the lender is set to offer Visa PayWave cards, enabling customers to pay faster through a “tap-and-go” scheme.
Recently, UCPB was awarded by Visa for having the highest debit e-commerce payment volume growth in 2018, the second year for the bank to obtain the recognition.
The state-owned bank reported a P2.91-billion net profit for the first nine months of the year, down 4% from the P3.031 billion it made a year ago, as it reeled from lower trading gains and higher borrowing costs. — KANV