Union Bank of the Philippines has built The ARK that may be the key to save Filipinos from traditional banking dilemmas – ferrying everyone into the world of fully-digital banking.
The ARK is the latest innovation developed by UnionBank which describes the project as a move from the traditional transactional spaces type of teller-assisted banking to interactional spaces of fully-digital seamless banking experience.
The ARK is Banking 3.0 where instead of having typical tellers, the branch has The ARK Ambassadors on hand, who are specially trained to assist customers through the new digital processes in the Bank as well as answer queries they may have about using technology in bank transactions.
Each of The ARK Ambassadors has been trained for full-scale customer service in the tradition of flight attendants. Instead of customers being sent from counter to counter depending on their banking concern, The ARK Ambassadors are able to answer all banking concerns.
As guests step into The ARK, located at the Ground Floor of the Insular Life Building in Makati City, they are transported to a place where banking as we know it embarks on a voyage into the future: one that does away with lines and enters the world of touch screen, augmented reality, and digital interaction.
The ARK welcomes both UnionBank clients and non-UnionBank guests to use their facilities not just for banking but also for meetings. The ARK even transforms into an event place after banking hours.
UnionBank, cited in 2017 by AsiaMoney as the best digital bank in the Philippines, launched the one-of-a-kind, pioneering banking branch of The ARK in 2017.
UnionBank President Edwin R. Bautista shared at the launch that “There’s no map to our destination, but our sails are out and the winds are steering us in the right direction.”
“No doubt the next generation is dictating changes upon the banking industry. But we also don’t want to isolate clients that have been loyal to us for the past 40 years. We built The ARK so that nobody would get left behind,” pledges the UnionBank President.
UnionBank’s The ARK recently expanded its digital banking hours from 9 AM to 6 PM.
