Manila, Philippines – Union Bank of the Philippines has announced the expanded role of Albert Cuadrante as chief marketing, customer experience, and digital channels officer, reflecting the bank’s commitment to strengthening its customer-centric strategies and digital innovation.
In his new role, Cuadrante will lead the charge in ensuring the bank delivers exceptional customer experiences across both physical and digital channels. As the overseer of UnionBank’s digital banking platform, UB Online, Cuadrante is also responsible for optimising the app’s user interface and continuously enhancing the customer journey to make banking easier and more convenient.
In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Cuadrante outlines his vision for enhancing customer experience at UnionBank, highlighting its leadership in digital banking through technology, customer insights, and agile innovation.
Blending digital innovation with customer care
Cuadrante began his journey at UnionBank as chief marketing officer before taking on the additional responsibilities of chief customer experience and digital channels officer.
For Cuadrante, his expanded role naturally integrates with the marketing function, as building strong customer relationships is essential to effective marketing. He believes that businesses must engage in continuous interactions and research to gain valuable insights into the customers they aim to attract and retain.
In his words, “Being intimate with the consumer is the core of marketing.”
Cuadrante’s vision is to create an empowered digital banking experience that liberates customers from traditional constraints like paper forms and limited banking hours, all while ensuring exceptional support at physical branches when needed.
A prime example of this vision is UnionBank’s ‘The Ark,’ the country’s first fully digital branch launched in 2017, which set the standard for the bank’s nationwide branch experience by seamlessly integrating digital and physical services.
“We are mindful never to lose sight of the fact that behind every digital transaction and interaction is a person,” Cuadrante shared. “That is the thread that binds the design of our products and services. We now have over 15 million retail customers and are growing, with our app being one of the highest-rated and most downloaded local banking apps. This motivates us to keep on looking for ways to delight our customers.”
Recognising the diverse needs of UnionBank’s clientele, Cuadrante is committed to continuously improving the customer experience by making it as seamless and frictionless as possible.
“We want our customers to open accounts, get credit cards, or have loans approved in the fastest possible time,” he expressed.
Beyond banking, the goal is to provide exclusive deals and offers in areas like shopping, travel, dining, and entertainment, helping customers enjoy the best experiences life has to offer. Cuadrante emphasises the importance of customer feedback, which UnionBank uses to identify areas for improvement and better meet the financial goals and aspirations of its clients.
“We constantly get customer feedback to allow us to determine which areas of our products and services we can do better at. Technology combined with our agile way of working allows us to keep on iterating and quickly make adjustments based on what we are learning to help ensure delivering our desired customer experience,” he said.
Embracing AI to drive efficiency and fuel growth
As the banking industry evolves with advancements in technology, Cuadrante emphasises the importance of agility.
“The UnionBank Team thrives in a fast-changing environment, as this is the nature of a digital world. We have built our processes around the agile way of working to enable us to introduce and/or improve products, services, and features,” he shared.
Under Cuadrante’s leadership, a culture of continuous learning and innovation is also actively fostered within the marketing and CX teams. This approach ensures they stay attuned to emerging trends and shifts in consumer behaviour and sentiment, which in turn informs the ongoing refinement of UnionBank’s products, services, and customer experiences.
UnionBank’s early adoption of AI technology is another key part of Cuadrante’s strategy for future growth. He highlighted the bank’s commitment to leveraging AI to design and deliver more personalised products, services, and offers that align with the diverse needs, behaviours, and aspirations of its customer segments.
“I believe that AI will allow us to become more efficient and targeted in the way we communicate, as well as allow us to respond more quickly to queries and requests for assistance,” he added.
Looking ahead, Cuadrante envisions a future where AI continues to shape the banking industry, enhancing the customer experience and driving further growth for UnionBank.
“We have already made a lot of progress with the models and tools that we have developed since, and we are actively working with our strategic partners in testing and experimenting on new solutions that can help make us more efficient and take our growth to the next level,” Cuadrante concluded.
