The south-east Asian country has refused to be left behind in the global surge toward adoption of blockchain technology, after UnionBank CEO, Justo Ortiz announced the bank has found a new application.

The firm will look to link rural banks in the Philippines with blockchain technology mirroring systems similar to that of popular brands SWIFT and Bancnet.

This exciting project was discussed by Mr Ortiz at the pre-launch of the Blockchain Association of the Philippines and will be a new landmark for fintech in the country.

He said that Blockchain will “crack the code of financial inclusivity’’ and

“the rural banks are the first mile to getting those members of the community that are unbanked.”

Reports reveal that six unnamed rural banks have been approved by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the country’s central bank) and will be a part of the pilot run of the new blockchain application by UnionBank.

When implemented Mr Ortiz asserted that banking processes involving rural banks would be a lot faster, declining from the current figure of 20 processes to 3.

Employment Opportunity For Blockchain Programmers

The need for experienced personnel to execute the project will mean that expatriate blockchain programmers will be required to raise its standards in the country.

“We need to be able to bring people from abroad to basically up the game here at the enterprise level. At the end of the day, if the enterprises adopt, it will force the individuals to adopt. It’s chicken and egg,” he said,

He also revealed that UnionBank would increase the number of blockchain programmers on their team from 30 to 100 at the end of the year and a massive 20,000 within the next two years.

UnionBank still leads the way as the most innovative banking firm in the Philippines having partnered with card giants Visa at the start of the year to develop the country’s first direct blockchain payment system for businesses, Visa B2B Connect.

The Blockchain Association of the Philippines, set to be officially launched on 28th May will look to spearhead the adoption and discovery of new applications of blockchain technology, especially across the Fintech industry.

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