Tag: Security Bank

Manila, Philippines – Security Bank has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 25% stake in HC Consumer Finance Philippines, Inc. (HCPH), also known as Home Credit Philippines. This strategic move underscores Security Bank’s commitment to enhancing its consumer finance capabilities and expanding its market presence.

Through the agreement, Security Bank will purchase the 25% ownership stake in HCPH from MUFG Bank Ltd. for approximately PHP11b. Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya PCL and its business units) will continue to hold a 75% ownership stake in HCPH and remain the majority shareholder.

This transaction marks eight years of the Security Bank and MUFG strategic alliance, which started in 2016. It also represents the second partnership between Security Bank and Krungsri, following their SB Finance, Inc. joint venture. 

The acquisition aligns with Security Bank’s strategic vision to become the most customer-centric bank in the Philippines. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, with target closing in the first quarter of 2025.

Sanjiv Vohra, president and CEO at Security Bank, said, “As we welcome Home Credit into the Security Bank family, we’re excited by the strategic benefits this acquisition brings. This is a tremendous opportunity to leverage synergies, offer innovative lending solutions, and support financial inclusion. We look forward to driving growth and delivering value to our stakeholders together.”

Meanwhile, Yasushi Itagaki, group COO-I and head of global commercial banking business at MUFG, commented, “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with Security Bank as we believe that Security Bank will complement Krungsri in Home Credit Philippines. Security Bank’s on-the-ground presence and understanding of the local market will bring forth continued growth for Home Credit Philippines.”

Manila, Philippines – Security Bank Corporation, a universal bank in the Philippines, has signed a contract with real-time payment software company ACI Worldwide in order to improve on the bank’s real-time payment hub. 

ACI will be providing their cloud-native ‘Enterprise Payments Platform’ solution for Security Bank to be able to unify its payments platform and facilitate the interactions between payment services and gateways for high and low-value payments such as InstaPay, Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer Service System or PDDTS, PESONet, Swift, and PhilPaSSplus on ISO2022 standards.

This modernised payment hub allows Security Bank to roll out products and services to customers faster and add new payment types seamlessly and cost-effectively to its core infrastructure.

Leslie Choo, senior vice president and managing director of ACI Worldwide-APAC, says,”Security Bank is at the forefront of driving customer centricity and redefining the digital real-time payments landscape in the country, and ACI is proud to support the Bank with cutting-edge payment hub technologies in leading this transformation.” 

He added, “Our robust solutions go from powering country-wide real-time payment ecosystems to interconnecting cross-border real-time payment networks and enabling the integration of different types of payments, such as the convergence of high-value and low-value payments into a single, unified, intelligent, cloud-native payment hub. “

Meanwhile, Stephen John Bell, senior vice president and channels network group head at Security Bank, said “Digital real-time payments are becoming ubiquitous, with today’s customers looking for a hyper-connected, frictionless customer experience. ACI’s modern, scalable, and cloud-native architecture will power real-time payments to meet the dynamic demands of our customers in the digital era. This initiative and our investment in innovative payment technology are testament to our unwavering commitment to customer-centricity.” 

Lastly, John Cary L. Ong, external vice president and transaction banking, group head at Security Bank, also supports the enhancing transition into real time payment in the Philippines, saying,”A modernised real-time payment solution offers financial resiliency and agility for businesses in the Philippines through enhanced cash flow management and improved business liquidity. For Filipino consumers, they can look forward to a fast and seamless customer experience through secure digital channels. As Security Bank celebrates 72 years of enriching lives and empowering businesses, the partnership with ACI signifies our commitment to deliver a BetterBanking eXperience.”

Manila, Philippines – Security Bank Corporation’s consumer finance arm, SB Finance Corporation (SBF), has partnered with Grab Philippines to offer personal loans to Grab users, driver-partners, and merchant-partners through Grab’s superapp.

The partnership will enable Grab users to apply for an SB Finance personal loan of up to ₱2M with payment terms of up to 36 months. It aims to support Grab’s diverse ecosystem and provide more value-added products for a targeted market segment while growing its loan portfolio. 

The loan application will be through an online process and applicants can expect funds to be released in five days.

“Our strategic partnership with Grab Philippines aims to assist Filipinos by conveniently extending personal loans for their needs. We’re optimistic that Grab users, driver, delivery, and merchant-partners will be able to experience a holistic digital lending experience as we navigate the new normal,” said Abbie Casanova, SB Finance’s CEO and president.

Meanwhile, Erwin Yamsuan, Grab’s head of financial services for the Philippines, shared that the superapp has strived to provide value to consumers and stakeholders and empower them by leveraging its technology and offering its suite of reliable and convenient products and services. 

“The partnership with SB Finance will give our users more access to much-needed financing which they can use to pursue business plans, do home improvement, or pay for health emergencies, among others. We hope that through these loans, consumers can sustain or improve their quality of life, especially during this pandemic,” said Yamsuan.

Grab said that through its Grab Financial Group, it will be offering several financial products to its driver, delivery, and merchant partners. These include offline and online loans, purchase financing, and postpaid fuel cards for driver-partners. It will also offer working capital loans for merchants. 

On the consumer side, Grab also has its PayLater service that allows consumers to pay for Grab services a month later, in one monthly bill, while GrabPay will also be giving its users a more rewarding experience as consumers earn GrabRewards points for their purchases using the service. These points can then be used to avail of discounts, and deals on Grab-related services and other merchant partners.