Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently held its very first Tech-Economic Briefing last February 17 at Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City. Highlighted at the “Overcoming Economic Hurdles Through Digital Solutions” event were timely discussions about trends in technology that are shaping the economy, and how fintech, tech, digital service companies, and corporate clients going digital will be able to thrive through challenges.
In her opening remarks, UnionBank’s Head of Fintech Business Group and Open Finance and Digital Services Center of Excellence Erika Dizon-Go emphasized to the 200 attendees the need for OPENness with a growth and collaboration mindset.
UnionBank Chief Economist Carlo Asuncion then kicked off the discussions by framing “The 2023 PH Economic Outlook: Navigating Through the Era of Uncertainty”. In his presentation, Asuncion tackled issues that are currently fueling volatility and uncertainty including: record-high inflation, the fragmentation of globalization, and the global labor market. “It’s not all volatility and uncertainty for this year. One, because we are basically insulated [from the potential global economic slowdown],” said Assuncion of the trends that could positively affect our economy. He also cited the expected growth of 2.6 percent for remittances this year, as well as the proposed budget for 2023, which he said will support growth, particularly for infrastructure, education, and health.
For the second session of the event, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Managing Director and Officer-in-Charge of Payments and Currency Subsector Bella Santos, Payments Policy and Development Dept. (PPDD) Officer-in-Charge Atty. Bridget Romero and PPDD Acting Dep Director German Constantino led a panel discussion on the digitization of payments which focused on innovation and how it can promote faster growth in the sector.
UnionBank Chief Marketing Officer Albert Cuadrante led capped off the event with “Engaging the Digital Consumer,” to paint a picture of the current digital marketing landscape. Citing the growth of internet usage of the Philippine market due to being the biggest social media users of the world, Cuadrante gave tips on what digital marketers must do in order to help their organization. He emphasized focusing on: creating content that can connect with people wherever they may be on their customer journey, keeping the message clear and simple, showing empathy, and choosing the right platform when talking to the customers.
“We have to get away from digital marketing as a separate discipline because it is the only [marketing] discipline right now in the digital environment,” concluded Cuadrante in urging organizations to take a fresh look at marketing as a whole.
With the successful mounting of the first Tech-Economic Briefing of the bank that has wholeheartedly embraced its digitization, clients can look forward to hearing more from the UnionBank regarding what is to come and how to be prepared with the right strategies, the right tools, with the right bank partner.