SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 11 March 2020 - Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) bagged seven awards at The Asset Triple A Digital Awards 2020, including Digital Banker of the Year - Asia Pacific for the bank's President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista, who also won Digital Bank of the Year -- Philippines for the third year in a row.

Fintech projects were also recognized such as Project BitBox which ushered in the Philippines' first central bank approved Virtual Currency ATM and was awarded by The Asset as the Best ATM Project. Meanwhile, Project i2i which connects rural banks to the country's main payment network using blockchain technology won the Best Digital Financial Inclusion Project award.

Bautista launched UnionBank 's digital transformation which introduced revolutionary initiatives including the first "selfie-banking" in Asia, the first fully digital bank branch in the Philippines, and the first bank chatbot in the country, among others.

UnionBank is regarded by partners as a leader in enabling fintechs and an ardent champion for blockchain-based solutions that contribute to financial inclusion.

"We applaud UnionBank's vision and transformational impact on the industry as a whole here in the Philippines--a direct result of the quality of its leadership," said Microsoft Philippines Country General Manager Andres Ortola. "We are privileged for the opportunity to work alongside [Mr. Bautista] and his team as we drive towards a more financially inclusive and empowered nation," he added.

Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of Mynt - a fintech backed by Ant Financial, Globe Telecom and Ayala Corporation, also offered his congratulations. "UnionBank clearly stands out as one of the most progressive banks in the Philippines in driving the shift to digital," said Thomas. "We value our partnership and the openness of the bank to work with fintech players in solving pain points to enable a better customer experience for Filipinos," he added.

Several other UnionBank initiatives were also lauded by The Asset which includes the Retailer Financing Program as the Best Digital Collaboration, Mobile Check Deposit which received the Best Digital Upgrade award and UnionBank GlobalLinker Trade Connect recognized as the Best Social Media Project.