Alibaba Cloud Collaborates with UBX to Boost Financial Inclusion in the Philippines

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has collaborated with UBX,  the fintech venture studio and fund spun out of UnionBank of the Philippines, to accelerate financial inclusion in the country by harnessing digital technologies.

Xpanse, UBX’s new open finance platform, will leverage Alibaba Cloud’s eKYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) solution provided by Zoloz, a strategic partner of Alibaba Cloud, to help financial institutions in the Philippines boost their business efficiency and reinforce system security through digitalizing the identity verification process.

“Open Finance is significantly changing the way financial institutions interact with each other and their customers. Leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s advanced e-wallet technologies, UBX will enable Philippine financial institutions to reach more of the country’s unbanked and build trust remotely,” said John Januszczak, President and CEO of UBX.

“Alibaba Cloud shares UBX’s mission of enabling a financially inclusive society through accessible financial services, especially in the new normal. We believe our proven technologies in the e-wallet industry could assist UBX in promoting financial inclusion and equipping financial institutions in the Philippines with advanced solutions that operate seamlessly and reliably for end-users,” said Allen Guo, Country Manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Zoloz’s RealID eKYC solution streamlines the whole customer authentication process for financial institutions, eliminates paper-based procedures, and reduces the cost and time spent on manual verification, resulting in faster onboarding and an enhanced customer experience.

The solution also helps financial institutions adhere to regulatory compliance more easily, thanks to its rich AI model and comprehensive risk management engine that can guarantee high accuracy and reduce identity fraud.

As the leading public cloud service provider in Asia Pacific, Alibaba Cloud is one of the founding members of the FinTech Alliance of the Philippines, offering its expertise in cloud technology to provide appropriate solutions to address issues and challenges in the sector.

The FinTech industry in the Philippines has been growing steadily in recent years, with advancements in digitalisation and the availability of smart devices leading development. In June 2021, Bangko Sentral Pilipinas (BSP) approved the new guidelines for the Open Finance Framework, allowing “consent-driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships among financial institutions and third-party providers (TPPs).”