UnionBank bets big on virtual reality, iPads as it levels up digital banking

Cathy Yang, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/business/02/13/cathyyang-edwinbautista-021318.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>UnionBank&#x27;s president and CEO Edwin Bautista talks to ANC&#x27;s Cathy Yang about the bank&#x27;s radical digital pivot.</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Virtual reality is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when people visit a bank branch, but for UnionBank, VR is a tool that can change not just how people view banks but the banking experience itself. </p><p>&quot;Instead of banking being a chore, we want it to be a positive experience. How to do that? that&#x27;s the marketing challenge,&quot; said Edwin Bautista, UnionBank&#x27;s newly-appointed president and CEO. </p><p>At The Ark, UnionBank&#x27;s pilot digital bank in Makati, there are padded, bright-colored benches, free flowing coffee and even VR goggles where customers who want a car or housing loan can preview their dream vehicle or home. </p><p>Bautista, in an exclusive interview with ANC&#x27;s The Boss, said the rationale here is that most people don’t go into a bank to inquire about a loan. Instead, they want to figure out how to achieve their life goals. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1439454" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Inside the country’s first fully digital bank branch, there are also no queues, no slips of papers with numbers on them, and most important of all, no bank tellers. </p><p>&quot;Someone will approach you with an iPad and take your order. In the meantime you can have coffee,&quot; Bautista said. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1439456" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Instead of bank tellers, The Ark has &quot;bank ambassadors&quot; who lend customers an iPad as they enter. </p><p>All bank transactions – from transferring funds to applying for a loan – are accomplished through standalone</p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_3_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_3" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1439386" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>UnionBank is set to open 10 other branches similar to The Ark across Philippines this year as it cements its claim to being the country&#x27;s first fully digital bank.</p>

<p>Virtual reality is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when people visit a bank branch, but for UnionBank, VR is a tool that can change not just how people view banks but the banking experience itself. </p>

Virtual reality is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when people visit a bank branch, but for UnionBank, VR is a tool that can change not just how people view banks but the banking experience itself.

UnionBank bets big on virtual reality, iPads as it levels up digital banking | ABS-CBN

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UnionBank bets big on virtual reality, iPads as it levels up digital banking

UnionBank bets big on virtual reality, iPads as it levels up digital banking

Cathy Yang,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 13, 2018 10:19 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 14, 2018 09:26 PM PHT

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UnionBank

The Ark

digital banking

virtual reality

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Cathy Yang

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