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UnionBank first universal bank to offer crypto exchange via mobile app

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — UnionBank said it would become the first universal bank in the country to offer virtual asset exchange through its mobile banking app. </p><p>Select UnionBank users will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin directly from the app without the need for a third party wallet, the lender said in a statement. </p><p>&quot;Blockchain is a technology that we think will power the future of banking. At the same time, we also recognize that cryptocurrency has been one of the services that a lot of customers are already looking for, especially the younger generation, and this demand was accelerated by the pandemic,&quot; UnionBank Digital Asset Markets and API Marketplace Group Head of Blockchain Center of Excellence Cathy Casas said. </p><p>The new feature will be rolled out to randomly pre-selected users, UnionBank said, with the goal of wider rollout &quot;in the near future.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Not only does this help us ensure that the Bank is more future-ready, we are also able to serve the needs of our customers who use cryptocurrencies,&quot; said Henry Aguda said, UnionBank Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, and Chief Transformation Officer. </p><p>&quot;This is also one of the things that we are working on as we prepare our path towards entering the metaverse,&quot; he added.</p><p>So far, some digital banks such as <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/04/06/22/want-bitcoin-paymaya-says-rolling-out-crypto-feature">Maya</a> are offering virtual asset exchange on their platforms. </p><p>In April, UnionBank entered a partnership with NFT game Art of Dreams to expand its footprint in the metaverse. It also aims to launch a Metaverse Center of Excellence in the next few months, it said.</p><p>The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas grants virtual asset service provider and virtual currency exchange licenses to eligible financial institutions.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/01/22/unionbank-acquires-citi-consumer-business-in-ph">UnionBank completes acquisition of Citi consumer business in PH</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/28/22/unionbank-eyes-july-launch-of-digital-bank-uniondigital">UnionBank eyes launch of digital bank UnionDigital in July</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1445823" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

UnionBank said it would become the first universal bank in the country to offer virtual asset exchange through its mobile banking app. 