With more than 41 million Filipinos who still do not have formal bank accounts and are missing out on economic opportunities and financial security, neobanking is emerging as the most practical solution. UNO Digital Bank presented the digital-only banking platform that operates solely online without any physical location as a convenient financial service alternative at the recent inaugural Philippine FinTech Festival (PFF).
Manish Bhai, Founder, President, and CEO of UNO Digital Bank said, “The opportunity for us to make better financial services is huge. But you always have to keep in mind what the customer really wants. You should look at trying to solve their problems and pain points in creating a product.”
Addressing the reluctance of many people to get a bank account from the brick-and-mortar financial institutions, he said that a digital bank can open the door for them because it has less documentary requirements and can accomplish real-time online banking, that range from deposits, payments, to securing loans. What digital banks can offer is speed and ease in accessing financial solutions.
UNO Digital Bank is one of the six licensed digital banks by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the first FinTech in the region to get an outright digital banking license.
It launched during the inaugural Philippine FinTech Festival (PFF) and the World Fintech Festival Philippines on October 18-21, 2022. Convening both the PFF and the WFF-Philippines is Digital Pilipinas, the largest private sector movement for creating a technology and innovation ecosystem geared to bring about technological acceleration in the country and building an anti-fragile system in its societal structures and industries.
The week-long event was held in partnership with Elevandi, an organization founded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to foster public-private-sector dialogue to advance FinTech in the digital economy.
The products available in the initial version of UNO mobile app are the following:
- #UNOready HIGH-RATE savings account
- A base interest rate of 3.50% gross per annum applies to accounts with available end of day balance below PHP 5,000.00 while a step-up interest rate of 4.25% gross per annum applies to accounts with an available end of day balance of PHP 5,000.00 and above.
- #UNOready Savings Account comes with FREE life insurance with PHP 50,000.00 coverage. This is automatically activated with a minimum PHP 10,000 ADB.
- It also comes with a free UNO Virtual Debit Mastercard (this is automatically activated with a Php100 minimum deposit) to offer an easy and convenient way to make purchases and manage banking transactions.
- #UNOboost Time Deposit
- Earn a guaranteed interest of 6.5% while having the flexibility to choose your desired term of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 months.
- You can open an #UNOboost account for a minimum of PHP 5,000 and deposit up to PHP 2,500,000 (or 5 tranches of PHP 500,000).
- #UNOearn Time Deposit
- Add another source of income to support your lifestyle with #UNOearn, a HIGH-YIELD Time Deposit that provides a monthly payout.
- Lock-in a guaranteed interest rate of 6.5% for a longer period and enjoy an additional income stream credited to your UNO Savings Account on a monthly basis. You can choose between terms of 12 or 24 months.
- You can open an #UNOearn account for a minimum of PHP 5,000 and deposit up to PHP 2,500,000 (or 5 tranches of PHP 500,000).
All deposit products are insured up to Php500,000 per depositor by PDIC.
Another innovation that can open more financial access while increasing digital security is UNO Digital Bank’s Numberless Card. Developed in cooperation with Mastercard, its built-in chip contains all the customer’s card information with none of the usual details being printed on the card. If the card is misplaced or gets lost, it cannot be used for fraudulent transactions because the card information is not available in the physical card. This is an innovation in payment security. With this extra layer of protection, customers can focus on saving and growing their funds for the future.
With its public launch, UNO Digital Bank is now available to millions of Filipinos, ready to provide its services. Its full-spectrum approach means that it provides a digital banking platform and a trusted interface to meet all of its customers’ financial needs: to save, borrow, transact, protect, and invest.
UNO Digital Bank plans to expand its services in the future with loans, insurance, and investment products.
Aside from the innovative products mentioned earlier, you can also use the UNO mobile app to send and receive money (cash in is FREE in over 7,500 outlets nationwide), pay bills and scan to pay.
Other products in the pipeline are loans, insurance, and investments products.