BAI Global Innovation Awards, the financial service industry’s most prestigious awards program, has recently recognized UBX, the fintech spinoff and venture capital unit of Union Bank of the Philippines, for its high-impact innovation especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now on its tenth year, the BAI celebrates new and innovative solutions in the industry worldwide. Each winner is selected by the Innovation Circle, a panel of international financial services innovation leaders, who evaluate each submission for originality and impact to determine the most innovative companies across eight awards categories.

BAI and the Innovation Circle judges acknowledged “the heroic efforts of financial services organizations throughout the industry to meet the needs of their customers, colleagues and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic” particularly UBX, which was one of only two organizations recognized with special Honorable Mention for its “high-impact innovation during the pandemic to meet the changing needs of its customers quickly and effectively.”

UBX’s SeekCap is the Philippine's first same-day-approval loan marketplace for MSMEs. Through SeekCap, multiple lending institutions, including banks, can swiftly create and launch loan products on the marketplace, thereby allowing MSME borrowers to choose what loan product best suits their business needs, and apply for loans digitally and seamlessly on a single platform.

This game-changing solution was built by UBX together with OneConnect Financial Technologies to provide an end-to-end digital lending marketplace that allows MSMEs to quickly 'seek capital' – hence the brand name SeekCap. SeekCap is also a play on the Filipino word 'sikap' which means perseverance, diligence, and hard work – qualities that most MSMEs already have. This search enables MSMEs to also compare and apply for credit digitally and seamlessly, while enjoy fast, “within-1-day” approval.

" It is a great privilege for UBX to be recognized by BAI with a special Honorable Mention for our mission to provide opportunity and access for all!  Now, more than ever, MSMEs play a critical role in revitalizing the Philippine economy. With a fully-digital experience and fast approvals, SeekCap addresses the major funding gap of MSMEs who are acutely affected by access to credit and working capital; made even more challenging under COVID. Through SeekCap, MSMEs don't even need a bank account to apply,” said UBX President and CEO John Januszczak. 

For more information about UBX and its digital products, visit www.ubx.ph