יוניאַן באַנק ווערט דער ערשטער פיליפינען באַנק צו פאָרשלאָגן רירעוודיק ביטקאָין (בטק) טריידינג באַדינונגס

The offering is only available to a few customers, but a full rollout is planned to commence soon. 

Following the massive interest in cryptocurrencies, traditional financial institutions, including banks, are joining the crypto bandwagon to retain customers. 

לויט a report by local news outlet Inquirer.Net, Union Bank of the Philippines has become the first bank in the country to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its clients. 

More Details About the Offering

Customers of the Union Bank of the Philippines can access the service through the bank’s mobile application. Notably, Union Bank customers can buy and sell Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, directly from the app without needing any third-party wallet service. 

The initiative will make buying and selling the top asset class easy and convenient for Filipinos. However, the offering will be rolled out to selected Union Bank customers for the time being. While some Union Bank customers can see the virtual asset feature on their mobile app, others may not yet have access to the functionality during the initial phase of launch. The idea is to test the new feature to identify whether any technical glitch can occur. The report added that a full rollout would occur if everything ran smoothly. 

The launch is in compliance with the Central bankof the country the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP).

Union Bank to Fully Enter the Metaverse

Henry Aguda, Senior Executive Vice President Chief Technology at Union Bank, said: 

"By launching this new feature, we are hitting two birds with one stone —future-proofing the Bank and satisfying the needs of customers who use cryptocurrencies.” 

Interestingly, Aguda added that the offering would pave the way for the bank’s venture into the metaverse. 

“This is one of the things we are working on as we clear our path towards the metaverse,” Aguda added. 

It is noteworthy that Union Bank of the Philippines intends to delve deeper into the cryptocurrency industry by launching the country’s first-ever Metaverse Center of Excellence. 

Union Bank first ventured into the Metaverse in April following its partnership with a non-fungible token (NFT) project, Ark of Dreams. 

Meanwhile, the development is part of efforts made by the bank to develop customer-centric solutions powered by emerging technology. 

The bank recently launched a new campaign dubbed Tech-Up Pilipinas, an initiative to promote digital literacy and financial inclusion throughout the country. 

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