Digital technology has enabled businesses to provide their customers with seamless communication across various channels and 24/7 support while offering transparency and a unique experience. This model can be multiplied tenfold as a whole-of-nation approach in "teching up" a country.

For UnionBank of the Philippines, the most digitized bank in the country, its advocacy for "Tech Up Pilipinas" is the cornerstone of its digital strategy. It believes that digitization is more of a journey than a destination.

UnionBank believes that the nation needs to rely on the resources available through various digital tools in anticipation of the expected investment inflow in digital transformation.

In the latest Singapore Fintech Festival, the UnionBank delegation headed by chairman Erramon I. Aboitiz and president and CEO Edwin R. Bautista showcased vital business units that are the pillars of its digital journey through a two-story exhibit booth at the priority sponsors area of the expo.

UnionBank has been part of the annual festival since 2018, working the room with the biggest banks in the region. This year, more than 60,000 participants, 850 speakers, and more than 500 exhibitors attended the event, a testament to its status as the "world's most impactful fintech event."

Trailblazing technologies developed by UnionBank for blockchain, data analytics, and Artificial Intelligence were featured on the booth's Patent Wall. At the same time, the bank's digital journey was prominently displayed at the booth's central area. Noteworthy was the video showing UnionBank's game-changing acquisition of Citi's 'crown jewel.'

The multiple screens on the booth highlighted how UnionBank's technological innovations touched clients while top-level UnionBankers were on hand to tell the more profound stories behind these.

Aside from engaging with clients, entrepreneurs, investors, government, financial services, and technology leaders, UnionBank executives led discussion panels and speaking sessions in the various stages of the 2022 SFF. Corporate clients were also hosted to listen to globally and locally relevant presentations affecting the financial industry.

Dignitaries from the Philippine government who visited the UnionBank booth include Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier, Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and Director Mhel Plabasan; Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Kelvin Lester K. Lee; and Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Maria Francesca Montes-Del Rosario.

UnionBank has always been among the first to embrace client-centric technological innovations, as a result, it has consistently been recognized as one of Asia's digital trailblazers, ranking among the country's top universal banks in terms of profitability and efficiency.

It has garnered a record-breaking number of awards and recognition, such as the Most Recommended Retail Bank in Asia Pacific by BankQuality.com, five-time Digital Bank of the Year by The Asset Triple A; Asia Pacific's Digital Trailblazer by IDC Asia Pacific, and the Top 1 of Most Helpful Banks in the Philippines during Covid-19 by BankQuality.com.

With what can almost be anticipated as an annual endeavor, UnionBank's participation in the Singapore FinTech Festival is a testament to its promise to power the future of banking by "Teching Up Pilipinas" to best serve the growing needs of Filipinos everywhere, fulfilling its vision of building a Bank of enduring greatness while pioneering innovations for a better world.