UnionBank, Lazada launch virtual credit card team-up

MANILA, Philippines — As Metro Manila and nearby areas were reverted back to a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine, Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines has partnered with Lazada Philippines and Mastercard to launch the country’s first e-commerce credit card.

Edwin Bautista, president and chief executive officer at UnionBank, said the new UnionBank Lazada credit card would help serve the needs of Filipinos who continue to shift to digital and online transactions amid the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the country’s leading digital bank, we’re truly excited about this new partnership because we believe the new UnionBank Lazada credit card will enable us to serve the growing needs of Filipino shoppers in this rapidly changing digital economy,” Bautista said.

The new credit card is the only credit card that allows cardholders to directly earn up to six times Lazada wallet credits from their online spend at Lazada – the highest earning rate among other credit cards in the market.

Every P200 spend at Lazada purchases earn cardholder with P6 Lazada credits. Meanwhile, cardholder earns P1 for every P200 on all other purchases outside Lazada.

As another testament to UnionBank’s digital banking technology, the UnionBank Lazada credit card also introduces a new virtual credit card – which cardholders can use for online transactions without waiting for the physical card to be issued.

The cardholder will receive the virtual card, activate and use it to make online purchases immediately once application is approved. The virtual card can be viewed safely through the UnionBank Online app, with security controls including biometrics and one-time-password.

A physical card will also be delivered to cardholders for their face-to-face, point-of-sale transactions.

Ray Alimurung, chief executive officer of Lazada Philippines, said the collaboration with UnionBank would create a secure and inclusive digital economy in the Philippines.

“With more people turning to the Lazada platform to meet their needs, the new UnionBank Lazada credit card will empower Filipino customers to get more value from their purchases as they embrace a cashless digital lifestyle,” Alimurong said.

For his part, Mastercard country manager in the Philippines Rowell del Fierro said “the UnionBank Lazada credit card is a demonstration of Mastercard’s global expertise in co-brands and its continuing commitment to bringing digital solutions that enable a seamless and secure shopping experience online.”

Lazada chief marketing officer Neil Trinidad earlier said e-commerce has seen a dramatic growth as the behavior of consumers completely changed.

“On the platform, we’ve seen a 15 times growth on groceries, and this is a category that did not exist really on e-commerce before. Health and hygiene continues to grow and has grown around 10 times,” Trinidad said.