Ep 242 - The Hustle Behind UnionDigital Bank

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

Arvie De Vera, Co-Founder and Former CEO of UnionDigital Bank, joins us in this episode to share the hustle it took to launch the UnionDigital Bank app. Arvie will share his origin story and how he made an illustrious career in banking that culminated with him heading the digital efforts of Unionbank last decade. He also shares what led to UnionBank creating UnionDigital Bank and the intense hustle they had to do to get the product out under a tight deadline. He'll also share a lot of great insights and wisdom about the digitization of the Philippine finance system.

Episode Topics

[00:01:53] - The Philippines' Digital Transformation

[00:04:53] - R.V. de Vera's Hustle and Vision

[00:06:07] - R.V. de Vera's Early Hustles

[00:11:31] - Early Journey and Hustle in the Financial Technology

[00:13:32] - Joining Citibank and Learning about Risk Management

[00:17:51] - Leaving Banking and Exploring Media and Telco Industries

[00:22:33] - Building Products at Union Bank

[00:27:21] - Creating the You Share Donation Platform

[00:31:44] - Using GCash for Microfinance Collections

[00:33:37] - Collaboration with startups

[00:43:47] - Becoming a Digital Bank

[00:45:48] Building the Team and Meeting Deadlines

[00:48:04] - Financial Inclusion and Technology

[00:50:15]- The Challenge of Finding Digital Talent in the Philippines

[00:52:18] - The Importance of Mentorship in the Startup Ecosystem

Quotes:

"I believe that the people also rallied around my vision of what kind of a digital bank we wanted to have, which was a digital bank that could service the mass market for financial inclusion."- Arvie De Vera

"Why do it alone when you can work as a team?"- Ron Baetiong