PHLPost, UBX partner for financial services

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has partnered with Philippines-based Open Finance platform UBX to launch Kasama Lahat, which will transform the country’s premier postal agency into a modern hub that offers financial and data services.

The Postmaster General and the UBX president have signed the agreement to transform each post office outlet into a community financial centre, promoting financial inclusion, especially in far-flung areas. Under the partnership, UBX will provide the necessary technical knowledge in digital finance and Open Finance to hasten the Post Office’s digital transformation journey.

With its ubiquity and reach, the Post Office is well-positioned to provide the customers with necessary financial services, through its network in cities and municipalities nationwide. Through the Bangko sa Barangay service of UBX, the Post Office will be able to transform thousands of its outlets nationwide into financial hubs, offering various types of services such as disbursements, fund transfers, cash withdrawals, loan applications, payments, insurance, and collections, among others.

PHLPost has approximately 1,300 outlets across the country. Aside from transforming each postal outlet into a community financial center, the partnership will also empower postmen or letter carriers to become cash agents. They will be trained to provide guidance on how to apply for financial products and services, as well as to supervise the provision of these services.

In the long term, Kasama Lahat aims to establish the Post Office as Open Finance Hubs, which can process data transactions as well, such as validation of customer information for loan applications, asset validation, and even collection or debt restructuring services.

The Post Office will also be able to establish a product line that will establish its financial independence from the budget provisioned by the government, giving the postal agency a more sustainable business culture. The profit margins will allow it to continue its vision of modernisation.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that 47 percent of Filipino adults are still unbanked. The government aims to include at least 70 percent of Filipino adults in the country’s financial system by 2023.