Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) joined the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), fellow PERA administrators, and financial services partners in the ceremonial launch of the Open Finance for PERA (OFxPERA) Pilot, making it as the first bank to go live under the initiative.

The program, led by the BSP, uses the Open Finance framework to digitize and simplify the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) onboarding process. Through the pilot, users can open PERA accounts via participating apps by securely sharing their bank or e-wallet know-your-customer (KYC) data. This process removes the need for paper forms or physical ID verification.

"By integrating Open Finance into the PERA ecosystem, we open new ways for individuals to manage their long-term financial goals with greater ease and confidence," said Ana Aboitiz Delgado, president and CEO of UnionBank.

The OFxPERA Pilot seeks to strengthen the PERA framework by applying Open Finance principles, offering more accessible and transparent retirement planning tools. UnionBank said this aligns with the BSP's objective of supporting better retirement preparation for Filipinos and with the bank's goal of expanding access to financial services through innovation.

UnionBank noted that its work in Open Banking has supported this initiative. The bank has nearly 1,000 application programming interfaces (APIs) on its Developer Portal and links with close to 200 institutions, building a network that enables collaboration and customer-focused solutions.

The bank also cited its recent merger of UnionBank Investment Management and Trust Corp. with ATRAM, which it said shows how partnerships can provide more responsive financial services when guided by Open Finance principles.

UnionBank plans to bring lessons from the OFxPERA Pilot into its UnionBank Online app to expand access to digital financial tools for its customers.