The financial technology arm of Union Bank of the Philippines led by bankero Edwin Bautista has partnered with Meralco-owned payment platform Bayad to improve the experience of Filipino consumers.
UBX president and CEO John Januszczak said that the strategic partnership with Bayad is part of the company’s commitment to improved financial services.
“We are committed to constantly improving our services and in bringing financial services closer to those who need them. Our partnership with Bayad will provide seamless bills payment transactions to our customers, allowing us to further strengthen our initiatives for financial inclusion,” Januszczak said.
Under the agreement, the banking-as-a-service venture of UBX dubbed as i2i will leverage the network of billers of Bayad allowing its banking agents to process payments for Meralco and Home Credit.
Throughout the year, the partners aim to add more billers to further promote greater convenience to customers.
Currently, i2i has around 250 billers in its platform, including local utilities, schools, telcos and more. These include major players of different industries such as Philippine Airlines, Bayan Telecommunications, and even different universities throughout the Philippines.
By integrating its systems with Bayad, small businesses and residents of far-flung areas can also enjoy the efficiency and convenience of paying their bills through i2i agents.
As of end 2021, there are 3,000 i2i banking agents across the country and these include ordinary merchants like sari-sari stores that provide the basic financial services to the most underserved and unserved communities.
By leveraging on digital financial technology, Bayad president and CEO Lawrence Ferrer said that it continues to proactively respond to market developments and adapt innovations in banking.
“With this, we partnered with UBX to make financial services more accessible and convenient to our kababayans. With our partnership, we will be able to help communities bounce back in the new normal. We at Bayad, will continue to create positive strides by expanding our bills payment solutions while offering the convenience of real-time posting,” Ferrer said.
