Visa, UnionBank partner for pilot B2B transactions

MANILA, Philippines — Global payments technology company Visa has partnered with Aboitiz-controlled Union Bank of the Philippines to pilot test bank-to-bank (B2B) transactions ahead of the planned commercial launch at the end of the year.

Vikram Kshettry, head of B2B Partnerships at Visa Asia- Pacific, said it has processed bank-to-bank test transactions with UnionBank as the company gears up for the commercial launch of Visa B2B Connect.

“We are pleased to announce that UnionBank is one of the pilot partners in Asia-Pacific for the Visa B2B Connect platform. Typically, traditional cross-border transactions are archaic, time-consuming and expensive. We believe that it is important to simplify cross-border payments for small medium businesses and corporates in the Philippines,” Kshettry said.

Kshettry said the Visa B2B Connect takes on an innovative approach and eliminates friction for cross-border transactions by using distributed ledger technology to enhance the speed, security, and reliability of these transactions.

Visa B2B Connect is a platform designed to give financial institutions a secure, fast and predictable way to process corporate cross-border B2B payments.

Visa has been a leading provider of commercial card payment solutions and continues to see expanding opportunities in high-value cross-border payments – an area that’s ripe for improvement and innovation.

UnionBank chairman Justo Ortiz said the country’s 9th largest bank in terms of assets is excited about being part of the Visa B2B Connect program as it would enable corporate as well as small and medium enterprises (SME) clients for cross-border payments in a more efficient, timely, and secure manner.

“Traditionally, for example, if an SME needs to pay a supplier in Brazil he would request for an electronic funds transfer from his UnionBank account to his supplier’s account in Brazil. That could take three to five days and have to pass through several other banks, and pend confirmation,” he said.

For his part, UnionBank president and Edwin Bautista said the program could lower the cost of transaction and would help companies particularly SMEs nationwide.

Bautista said the Aboitiz-led bank hopes to double its SME base to 50,000 from the current 25,000 over the next few years.