UnionDigital Intends to Serve the Play-to-earn community, to Partner with YGG

By Shiela Bertillo

“The play-to-earn community is a community that we want to serve, that we wish to serve.”

Arvie de Vera, the CEO and Co-founder of UnionDigital Bank, stated that their digital bank is built to serve the play-to-earn community. He also revealed that UnionDigital is set to launch a collaboration with gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG). De Vera disclosed these last Thursday, January 20, during the 7th episode of the BitPinas Webcast.

UnionDigital, the digital arm of the UnionBank of the Philippines, is the first publicly-listed Philippine bank to be granted a digital banking license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). UnionBank — via UnionDigital — became the fourth bank with a digital banking license in the Philippines as the central bank approved its license last year. 

On its partnership with play-to-earn focused YGG, he shared that the collaboration aims to “give the Filipino play-to-earn community a responsible, regulated, safe, bank that they can move their crypto; and fiat, too.”

“UnionDigital is actually going to serve this community. We’re going to be the bank for the play-to-earn community. We are building this bank with the metaverse in mind. We’re designing this bank from the ground up with the metaverse in mind,” de Vera stated.

He also noted that it can also help them grow because this phenomenon of play-to-earn isn’t going to go away. To him, play-to-earn is a “new way of living. It’s a new way of working.”

“At UnionDigital, our challenge, together with YGG, is to create a customized way of onboarding the play-to-earn community, a way of properly identifying them, recognizing the transactions, (and) recognizing the play-to-earn as a way of living and a source of funds,” he added.

Further, de Vera also mentioned that with scholars and managers being able to bank, they may also now be able to borrow or get loans.

“UnionDigital is actually going to serve this community. We’re going to be the bank for the play-to-earn community. We are building this bank with the metaverse in mind. We’re designing this bank from the ground up with the metaverse in mind,”

Arvie de Vera, UnionDigital

“They (Scholars) are earning so much here, (there are) challenges in their proof of income, but why can’t they take a housing loan? I mean, when all structures are in place dapat doon talaga mapunta yung user experience ng scholars. They should have a path to that, because they are earning this reward, this cryptocurrency.”

He said that as banking entities, they need to find a way to legitimize these concerns, and “regulate it in a safe environment.”

“We’re also worried about the growth of the space,” he also mentioned, because for them “this (play-to-earn) community is very important and there are many untrusting actors out there. There are many providers, fintechs, (and) non-banks that really want to come in.”

De Vera said that he doesn’t want the community to borrow at “predatory rates.” According to him, they envision the play-to-earn community “to have access to the same financial services that other Filipinos have.”

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This article is published on BitPInas: UnionDigital Intends to Serve the Play-to-earn Community, to Partner with YGG