UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, ended 2022 on a positive note, as it ramped up efforts to advance open finance in the country while promoting financial inclusion.
Since its inception in 2018, UBX has achieved multiple major milestones through its financial ventures, empowered by its desire to make sure that underserved and unbanked communities in the Philippines have access to various financial tools and solutions.
Over the last three years, UBX’s customer base grew by 184x, bringing transaction volumes to a growth rate of 411x to P41 billion at end-2022. The platform also boasts over 230,000 business-to-business (B2B) customers that serve millions of local customers daily.
“These numbers reflect our commitment to our goal of financial inclusion. Our growth in 2022, amid a country recovering from the pandemic, is consistent with our performance over the years. We are confident that we will continue treading on a growth path this year, as we ramp up our open finance initiatives and introduce new digital financial solutions,” UBX President John Januszczak said.
In 2022, UBX boosted its drive for financial inclusion through its extensive range of embedded financial services and solutions and a network of the biggest and most reputable financial institutions and service providers, insurers, lenders, and payment channels in the country.
Fastest growing open finance platform
i2i has become the fastest-growing banking-as-a-service platform in the Philippines, after growing its transaction volume by 132 percent since it was introduced in 2018.
Bringing financial services to underserved communities through its network of financial services providers, i2i has established over 10,000 touchpoints all over the country, providing basic banking services in rural and far-flung areas.
P1T of business loans processed
Meanwhile, SeekCap, UBX’s online lending platform, has processed over P14 billion of business loans in 2022 from more than 65,000 micro, small, medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
SeekCap bridges lenders and MSMEs through its online platform. It is the Philippines’ first same-day approval digital lending marketplace.
Transforming payments
To further complement its ecosystem of financial services, UBX also operates BUx, an affordable end-to-end payment gateway for local businesses.
As of end-December, BUx has recorded over 100,000 signups from MSMEs, making payments simple and easy with its digital solutions such as payment links, Universal QR codes, and Buy Now Pay Later services.
Through BUx, MSMEs and enterprises can accept payment methods from over 60,000 over-the-counter locations including 7-Eleven and LBC Express, debit and credit card payments as well as e-wallet payments via GrabPay and GCash.
Bringing art into the blockchain
In 2022, UBX also introduced Artifract, a joint venture with art-tech startup Unit 256 Ventures Inc. Artifract allows anyone to purchase sections of art pieces as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The platform helps art estates, museums, private collectors, and artists in the preservation of fine art, ensuring the copyright of every piece, and future-proofing collections by allowing the Philippine art community to mint, buy, sell, and collect exclusive Fractional NFTs by renowned artists.
Digitalizing the government
UBX also beefed up its partnerships with the government in 2022, launching the Digital Transformation ng Pilipinas (DigiPinas) Initiative, a multistakeholder advocacy group, focused on the digital transformation of the country.
DigiPinas aims to deliver digital transformation to local government units, through digital tools and solutions. This is in line with UBX’s goal of financial inclusion, bringing government services closer to underserved constituents.
It also spearheaded the creation of the Open Finance Foundation, which advocates the adoption, education, and consumer research and protection needed to realize the benefits of Open Finance.
The foundation brings together relevant stakeholders, including other financial institutions, government agencies, non-government organizations, and more to create initiatives that will support the development of open finance in the country.
UBX was also tapped by the Philippine Postal Corp. to co-create Project Kasama Lahat, an initiative that aims to convert post offices into digital financial hubs to bring financial services closer to the masses.
“We believe in a future that is marked by financial and social inclusion. We at UBX are committed to our goal of including everyone in the financial systems. And we plan to accelerate our initiatives this year by strengthening our partnerships with the government, private sector, and civic organizations,” Januszczak said.