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UnionDigital Gets BSP Approval to Start Operations

UnionDigital is the fourth bank to be granted a digital banking license by the central bank.

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A week after receiving a go signal from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), UnionDigital, the digital banking arm of the Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines, has begun operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said that their operations were finally allowed after they received the “Certificate of Authority to Operate” from the central bank. UnionBank noted that the certificate was the “final stage in the three-stage digital bank license application process.”

“Pursuant to the authority to operate a digital bank granted in its favor by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last July 12, 2022, UnionDigital Bank Inc., UnionBank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, commenced operations today, July 18, 2022,” UnionBank said in the statement.

UnionDigital is the fourth bank to be granted a digital banking license by the central bank. Digital banks, according to the BSP, are a new bank category separate from existing bank categories. It is a type of bank where banking services are delivered over the internet. 

Aside from UnionDigital, there are five other licensed digital banks in the country namely; Overseas Filipino Bank of Land Bank of the Philippines; Tonik Bank of Singapore; UNObank of Singapore; GOtyme of Robinsons Bank Corp, and Maya Bank, owned by PayMaya of PLDT Inc.

Prior to these operations commencement, Ramon Vicente V. de Vera, CEO of UnionDigital Bank, expressed that UnionDigital will enter the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market in 2022. (Read more: UnionDigital Bank Eyes Venturing Into NFT)

UnionDigital Bank is also set to launch Philippine Peso UnionDigital stablecoin (PHD) soon. While UnionBank, UnionDigital’s parent company, previously launched in July 2019 the stablecoin called PHX which is used to facilitate a blockchain-based cross-border remittance transaction. (Read more: UnionBank’s UnionDigital to Launch Crypto Stablecoin PHD)

On the other hand, UBX, a financial technology venture studio of UnionBank, also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently with art-tech enterprise Unit 256 Ventures Inc. to co-develop Artifract.io, a platform that democratizes Fine Arts ownership by fractionalizing them as NFTs.

This article is published on BitPinas: UnionDigital Gets BSP Approval to Start Operations

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.

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