UnionDigital CEO: Metaverse Needs Banking
De Vera stated that the UnionDigital is “designed to bank the metaverse.”
Arvie de Vera, the CEO and Co-founder of UnionDigital Bank, stated that the metaverse needs banking and UnionDigital is a bank of the metaverse. He proclaimed this as he discussed how the metaverse is affecting e-commerce and vice versa as well as how that will affect metacommerce and what digital banking and other brands can do in the space as it grows in volume, in variety, and in experience.
De Vera mentioned these in his talk titled, “Enabling Metacommerce Through Digital Banking” during the second day of Metacon, the first Metaverse conference in the Philippines for brands held last July 28-29.
“The metaverse needs banking to enhance consumer experience.” –Arvie De Vera, UnionDigital Bank CEO and Co-founder
He noted that the metaverse is continuing to grow and expand into its own common usage; it must be embedded with some of the core financial functions that the customers are accustomed to.
“Even cash is no longer the preferred way of payment, a lot goes to digital platforms or e-wallets or electronic services to the banks. A lot more transactions are becoming digital, and it really aligns also to what the central bank has been talking about as they move digital payments towards their 50% goal as part of their digital transformation to get more transactions on digital,” he explained.
Also he stressed that the e-commerce momentum will translate into metaverse adoption. In fact he cited a Financial Times data that the Philippines is the fourth fastest growing digital economy in the world and at 5th place for crypto penetration according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) first half of 2021 volumes from the local regulated crypto exchanges.He credited the growth of crypto adoption to play-to-earn communities and traders in the country.
With these inline, De Vera stated that the UnionDigital, the digital banking arm of the Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines, is “designed to bank the metaverse.”
“UnionDigital has been working with these communities (play-to-earn guilds and crypto traders) to bank them and the metaverse. We are working with partners in the community to help design the proper banking services their community members will need in order to move (their cryptocurrencies) to Philippines peso and (other) fiat,” he stated.
UnionDigital started their operations last week after they received the “Certificate of Authority to Operate” from the central bank. (Read more: UnionDigital Gets BSP Approval to Start Operations)
UnionDigital is the fourth bank to be granted a digital banking license by the central bank. The other five other licensed digital banks are; 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.
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.
This article is published on BitPinas: UnionDigital CEO: Metaverse Needs Banking
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.
