UnionDigital Bank Eyes Venturing Into NFT
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By Shiela Bertillo
Ramon Vicente V. de Vera, CEO of UnionDigital Bank, announced that their digital native bank will enter the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market next year. The announcement was said during the virtual media roundtable E-TalkTales on Tuesday, December 21.
Vicente de Vera stated that the bank had a “keen interest” in the digital art. According to him, the currently around 250 fintechs operating in the Philippines right now is an indication that the economy is ready to accept NFTs and that cryptocurrency could do well there.
He also cited a bright prospect for cryptocurrency in the country with 4.36 million owners.
“We are also the top in the social media usage in the world six years in a row,” he added. “The Philippines is also number one in Internet usage in the world averaging 10 hours and 56 minutes per day.”
UnionBank senior executive vice president Henry Rhoel R. Aguda added that the bank is working alongside another company, not affiliated with the government, to pilot its digital asset custody service.
Moreover, he said that the bank had other plans to help workers in the gig economy, and that it would be doing something related to the metaverse.
He said the digital transitions the bank is doing have helped it survive the pandemic, adding that they “changed the way we live, the way we travel, the way we interact one another,” and that the financial sector, too, had been forever changed.
On the other hand, de Vera added that they will focus on delivering banking and financial services to underserved sectors.
“While UnionDigital aims to empower the country’s digital economy, we also aim to elevate it by bringing trust and governance into the space,” de Vera said. “We embrace innovation like fintech, but offer all the powers, experience and track record of a fully-regulated bank.”
UnionDigital, a subsidiary of UnionBank, is the only publicly-listed Philippines bank to get a license to operate a digital-native bank.
Source: Business Mirror
This article is published on BitPinas: UnionDigital Bank Eyes Venturing Into NFT
