UnaCash, the credit-based app introduced by financing firm Digido Finance Corp. in December last year, is setting its sights on driving growth opportunities within the Filipino financial products and services market and will soon be introducing new features and capabilities in its mobile platform that can cater to a wider range of customers.
Although the upcoming features remain undisclosed, UnaCash CEO Nikita Saigutin said that the company will be focusing on three areas in its pursuit of increased localized growth: diversification of products and services to be able to tap into newer markets, simultaneously fortifying established partnerships as well as forging new collaborations for deeper market penetration, and capturing the offline market who are predominantly weary of digital finance.
“The Philippine market has yet to tap its full potential in many aspects of financial technology. Despite previously lagging behind its peers in Southeast Asia when it comes to the global trend of digitalisation, it’s no longer the case. This stems from the government’s goal of reaching a universal and diverse financial ecosystem and active adeptness,” he explained.
Digido Finance initially introduced UnaCash through the UnaPay Salary Loans offering, enabling partner businesses to provide financial aid options to employees, followed by a partnership with online shopping giant Lazada to deliver shopping loan options to customers.
While the UnaCash app was released in June 2021, the Credit Line offering was actually launched months later, giving customers the choice to pick from which partner merchants they want to open a credit loan with interest rates ranging from 0% to 6%. Credit lines are replenished as soon as customers are able to pay their bi-monthly amortization.
“In the Philippines, we see a huge demand for quality financial services. This becomes our driving force. It encourages us to work relentlessly on UnaCash, improving existing services and introducing new ones,” Saigutin added.
He also said that alongside bolstering the features and products of the mobile app, UnaCash is doing continuous research and discussions to keep the user interface simple and straightforward, as well as integrating its credit line option to the online portals of partner merchants.
Some of the merchants offering UnaCash as a payment option include Lazada, Gladex, Motorama, Printaco, Mayani, Poundit, Affordahome, Evee, Halamanin, Health Mart, East Valley PC, Makotek, and VPharma.
Based on the company’s current figures, it has earned a total revenue of P65.1 million from a total loaned amount of P350 million across its more than 100 merchants now. The mobile platform has a daily download average of 7,500 and the amount of loan applications has reached over 700,000.
To apply for a loan, users will need to prepare one valid ID and proof of income, fill out the forms and upload photos of the required documents via the app, and select among three available financial products they wish to avail: a cash loan, a shopping loan with exclusive UnaCash merchants, or a dedicated Lazada loan which can also be used for bills payment.
