UnionDigital Bank rolls out ‘Kaya Mo’ movement to serve unbanked Filipinos
UnionDigital Bank (UD), a subsidiary of UnionBank of the Philippines, has launched a financial inclusion initiative on Saturday aimed at providing banking access to millions of unbanked Filipinos.
Around 37.6 million adult Filipinos were unbanked in 2021, ranking the country among the top 10 globally with the highest number of unbanked adults, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex report.
Danila “Bong” J. Mojica, UD’s president and chief executive officer (CEO), told BusinessWorld that with the recent launch of the ‘Kaya Mo’ movement, the initiative seeks to address the gap by making financial products and services, especially loans, more accessible digitally.
“The customer base of UnionBank—not UnionDigital Bank—is 18 million. But only about 3 million of them qualify for loans based on their criteria. So, there are 15 million who cannot borrow from them,” Mr. Mojica said during the launch event in both mixed English and Filipino, noting that the figure as a representation of Filipinos’ lack of access to loans.
He added that the figure represents UD’s potential market that they are studying to tap.
Under the Kaya Mo movement is UnionDigital Bank’s suite of financial products and services that Filipinos can use to save, access loans, and pay for daily transactions.
Mr. Mojica emphasized UD’s lending, which can range from P30,000 to P50,000 in loan amounts upon approval, and is specially suited for solo entrepreneurs seeking capital.
“You know, they borrow money from us. That’s the start of financial inclusion. And because we have more products combined with our loans, like the one we launched today, it can be better for them,” he said.
According to UD’s website, the bank’s cash loan amounts are subject to a processing fee of not more than 10%, capped at P10,000 for loan amounts above P20,000. The fee is a one-time charge and will be deducted from the loan disbursement.
Loans can be paid in one, two, three, six, and 12-month payment terms me, depending on the users’ preference and eligibility.
Other highlights of the Kaya Mo movement launch are UD platform’s unlimited and zero transfer fees for InstaPay transactions, as well as the platform being integrated soon with QR PH, the country’s national Quick Response (QR) code standard for digital payments.
The platform also features a UD virtual debit card powered by VISA, as well as access to a UD time deposit for as low as P1,000 with an interest rate of 3.75% per annum. – Edg Adrian A. Eva
