UnionBank Philippines Scales Embedded Consumer Finance via Samsung and OEM Partnerships

UnionBank of the Philippines has built an embedded consumer finance model in which roughly 30% of new customer acquisitions flow through partner channels. The bank collaborates exclusively with Samsung Finance and other OEMs to offer gadget financing directly in-store and through partner applications. A "same as cash" pricing programme, structured as a three-way agreement between UnionBank, OEMs, and accredited merchants, enables instant gadget loans at same-as-cash rates.

UnionBank also serves as the in-store credit card for S&R, a membership warehouse club, offering co-branded cards with triple rebates on purchases. Head of consumer banking Manoj Varma said partner-channel acquisition costs are a fraction of those incurred through traditional channels. Consumer loans account for 62% of the bank's total loan book, roughly three times the Philippine market average.

The bank added nearly 600,000 credit card customers in the prior year and now serves 17 million customers overall.