As businesses scale and expand across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the need for faster and more efficient processes becomes crucial. Every new branch needs a fully operational team. Every warehouse requires workers on deck. Every gig worker or partner rider counts on payouts to arrive when promised. Maintaining a steady momentum in growth becomes essential for continued progress.

Behind this acceleration are human resources and operations teams managing the essential steps before work even begins, including ensuring every employee has a bank account ready for their salary. For years, this simple requirement created delays as HR gathered documents one by one, coordinated with banks and waited for approvals. When delays happen, payroll cutoffs are missed and employees who were ready to begin work find themselves waiting and worrying.

Digital transformation promised relief and progress arrived. There was a shift when UnionBank launched ePaycard Digital Account Opening known as eDAO in 2021. Account setup moved online, the queues shortened, and paperwork eliminated. It paved the way for even smarter solutions built for the speed of modern enterprise.

UnionBank introduces Zero-Touch Onboarding, the Philippines’ first fully digital payroll account opening solution with zero manual processes.

What sets it apart:

● End-to-end digital account opening

● No HR or operations intervention

● Activation in under 24 hours, nationwide

● Ensures timely payroll crediting for new employees

● Designed for all medium to large enterprises, especially those with multiple locations

The process is simple: HR generates a QR code through The Portal (UnionBank’s online banking platform for business), employees scan it and submits the online application using the UnionBank Online app, and UnionBank handles the rest. No manual screening, no back and forth, and no delays before a worker starts earning.

For HR, it's totally zero-touch as they no longer need to process each employee document, Unionbank takes care of everything. Once the accounts are open, the HR officer will just see the employees' account numbers on The Portal.

Onboarding that once took up to two weeks can now be completed in under 24 hours. This speed removes friction, keeps business moving, and frees HR and operations teams to focus on initiatives that support growth and productivity.

The impact is clear across industries.

In BPO hiring fifty to a hundred people monthly across multiple deployment sites becomes smoother. New hires can self onboard even before they meet HR in person and arrive payroll ready by week one.

Retail brands spread nationwide no longer wait for branches to coordinate with their headquarters, before salary enrollment can proceed. Approvals become faster and centralized document checks are no longer a bottleneck.

In large corporations, HR teams used to handle everything manually for fifty to a hundred new employees every month. They handed out forms, including bank account applications, asked hires to visit a specific branch to submit documents, then collected account numbers one by one before payroll could run. With digital onboarding, this long chain of steps turns into a single streamlined flow that saves time, reduces errors, and helps people start earning sooner.

Different industries, same result. Faster activation fewer delays and a workforce empowered to start strong.

The rise of Zero Touch Onboarding aligns with the evolving policies of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Through initiatives such as the Open Finance Framework and its ongoing financial inclusion programs, the BSP encourages a more open and flexible ecosystem where employers and employees can manage payroll with greater ease. With digital channels like InstaPay and PESONet enabling smooth transfers, UnionBank supports this direction by offering solutions that simplify and modernize payroll enrollment.

UnionBank’s digital leadership has earned consistent recognition for innovation and customer experience. Recent awards include Outstanding Digital CX for UPay, Best Customer Experience via The Portal, Digital Transformation of the Year for ePaycard Digital Account Opening, and Branch Innovation of the Year for The Portal’s enhanced branch experience.

But awards only confirm what businesses experience. When onboarding becomes faster work can begin without delay, employees feel supported from day one, and companies gain the agility to keep growth moving. With solutions like Zero-Touch Onboarding, it points to a future where starting a job is easier and where both people and organizations move forward together.