Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), the country’s pioneer in digital banking and the region’s digital trailblazer, recently launched “The Future of Banking is with U”, the 2022 UnionBank Innovation Festival at the UnionBank Innovation Campus complex in San Pedro, Laguna. The inaugural three-day event is the first of annual gatherings celebrating banking technology and Filipino ingenuity slated from September 7 to 9, 2022.
From left to right: UnionBank Senior Executive VP, Chief Technology and Operations Officer and Chief Transformation Officer Henry A. Aguda; UnionBank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista; UnionBank Board Director Manuel Escueta; DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr.; and UnionBank Transaction Banking Center Head and Project Head of UnionBank Innovation Campus Ramon Duarte.
Among those who graced the opening ceremony were UnionBank Chief Technology & Operations Officer and Chief Transformation Officer Henry R. Aguda, Huawei Philippines Enterprise Business President Alex Luan Mingming, and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary David Almirol Jr., who each delivered a message. Joining them was UnionBank Board of Director Manuel D. Escueta.
“What started as a dream is now a reality. Today is a testimony that we can achieve anything we set our minds to,” said Aguda about the event in his welcoming remarks.
“To be chosen as your trusted partner for so many years, we feel very honored that you gave us this opportunity to bring this digital lifestyle to Filipinos,” said Mingming in his speech.
UnionBank Transaction Banking Center Head and Project Head of UnionBank Innovation Campus Ramon Duarte, Board Director Manuel Escueta, DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr., UnionBank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista and Senior Executive VP, Chief Technology and Operations Officer and Chief Transformation Officer Henry A. Aguda participated in the ribbon-cutting for the UnionBank Innovation Festival.
Usec. Almirol likened those who helped make the event possible to superheroes. “If you want to achieve innovation and digital transformation, you have to have that superhero mindset, not to boast, not to drag that you are better than everyone, but to share your strength with everyone.”
Afterwards, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held together with UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista and Escueta. They were joined by UnionBank Transaction Banking Center Head and Project Head of UnionBank Innovation Campus, Ramon Duarte.
The festival showcases numerous innovative digital solutions, applications and the latest trends in FinTech, EduTech, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Open Finance, the Metaverse and many more developed by UnionBank in collaboration with its various partners in government and the private sector, through the Bank’s advocacy dubbed, “Tech-up Pilipinas.”
It culminates with the official ribbon-cutting of the UnionBank Innovation Campus on September 9, simultaneous with the unveiling of the headquarters of UnionDigital, the digital banking arm of UnionBank, as well as the first-ever Asian Institute of Digital Transformation (AIDT).
UnionBank’s senior management executives led a discussion and answered questions from the media regarding the bank’s latest venture, the Innovation Campus.
Hundreds of guests, including dignitaries and partners from public and private sectors, clients, media and employees, are expected to participate in the festival to experience a variety of innovations, a series of fireside chats and panel discussions by industry experts, and will have a chance to win raffle prizes.
The 2022 UnionBank Innovation Festival was made possible in partnership with Huawei, Cloudera, Globe, TIM, Amazon Web Services, VMWARE/Integrated Compute, Questronix, BlueVoyant, Palo Alto, Salesforce, ICS, via-Appia.ph, Twilio, Tableau, Pointwest, ConvergeICT, Metaco, and the Department of Trade and Industry.