Philippines’ leader in digital innovation uses FICO® Platform to integrate Citibank systems, accelerate onboarding, and expand access to credit
MANILA, Philippines–(BUSINESS WIRE)–FICO (NYSE: FICO):
Highlights:
- UnionBank implemented FICO® Platform in just nine months, enabling seamless integration with Citibank’s systems
- Over 1 million customers transferred as part of UnionBank’s $700 million acquisition of Citibank’s consumer banking business in the Philippines
- More than 80% of credit card and personal loan applications are now processed straight-through, reducing onboarding time to 5–15 minutes
- Record-breaking account bookings of 50,000 new credit card and loan accounts per month at peak
- UnionBank won a 2025 FICO® Decision Award for Customer Onboarding and Management
Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), one of the country’s most innovative banks, has transformed its customer onboarding and credit decisioning process using FICO® Platform. Following its US$700 million acquisition of Citibank’s local consumer banking business in 2022, which transferred approximately 1 million customers, UnionBank deployed FICO Platform to seamlessly integrate Citibank’s IT systems and launch its Credit Decision Engine (CDE). This transformation has enabled the bank to process more than 80% of applications straight-through, reducing onboarding times to just 5–15 minutes and expanding credit access to underserved populations.
This achievement underscores UnionBank’s commitment to advancing financial inclusion in the Philippines, where high digital penetration provides a unique opportunity to address the needs of the underbanked. The rapid deployment of FICO Platform in just nine months highlights UnionBank’s agility and ability to balance customer experience with operational efficiency.
“FICO Platform has been instrumental in helping us integrate Citibank’s systems while improving operational efficiency and customer experience,” said Manoj Varma, consumer banking head at UnionBank. “As a result, we have achieved record-breaking growth while expanding financial inclusion across the Philippines.”
Watch UnionBank tell their story on video: https://youtu.be/vBXWhp6ezzE
Expanding Financial Inclusion
In the Philippines, financial institutions face significant challenges in serving the underbanked population, which includes many gig workers and consumers with thin or no credit histories. Limited availability of credit information has traditionally slowed onboarding processes and excluded large segments of the population from accessing credit. However, the country’s high digital adoption and geographic spread make it an ideal environment for innovative, branchless banking solutions.
UnionBank’s Credit Decision Engine, powered by FICO Platform, was designed to address these challenges. By leveraging advanced analytics and alternative data, the Credit Decision Engine has enabled UnionBank to score and assess customers who were previously underserved. This includes integrating bureau data and new methods for evaluating creditworthiness, allowing UnionBank to create comprehensive customer profiles and expand credit opportunities, while effectively managing risk.
The Credit Decision Engine also incorporates risk-based verification strategies to accelerate approvals for low-risk applicants, while maintaining rigorous checks for higher-risk segments. This tailored approach ensures that credit is granted responsibly, while reducing manual interventions, speeding up the process, and enhancing customer satisfaction. These innovations align with UnionBank’s mission to make financial services more accessible across the Philippines’ archipelago.
Key achievements of UnionBank’s transformation include:
- Record-breaking growth: Reached peak volumes of 50,000 new credit card and personal loan accounts per month
- Enhanced efficiency: Straight-through processing for more than 80% of applications, reducing onboarding time to 5–15 minutes
- Automation at scale: Automated 30–40% of credit decisioning processes, minimizing manual interventions and errors
- Financial inclusion: Leveraged alternative data to expand credit access for underbanked populations
- Seamless integration: Successfully integrated UnionBank and Citibank systems within nine months
UnionBank is further leveraging FICO Platform to strengthen customer management, with 2024 marking the addition of advanced decisioning for credit card limits and real-time authorizations. This reflects the bank’s ongoing effort to simplify and improve the customer experience with a fully integrated decisioning system.
“UnionBank has shown how technology isn’t just about algorithms and efficiency — it’s about empowering people,” said Nikhil Behl, head of software at FICO. “Through FICO Platform, they’ve built a scalable and inclusive onboarding process that is both efficient and customer-focused.”
For its achievements, UnionBank won a 2025 FICO® Decision Award for Customer Onboarding and Management.
“UnionBank took on the daunting task of adopting and enhancing Citibank’s systems while integrating their own policies and processes,” said Regan Goble, risk analytics senior manager at Westpac NZ and one of the FICO Decision Awards judges. “Integrating two distinct systems is no small feat. The judges were impressed with the precision and expertise required.”
To see the full list of 2025 FICO Decision Awards winners, check out: https://www.fico.com/en/fico-decisions-awards-2025
About UnionBank
Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is a leading financial institution committed to embracing technological innovations to empower its customers. Recognized as the Philippines’ pioneer in digital banking services, UnionBank aspires to be the region’s digital trailblazer and a Great Retail Bank, serving the growing needs of Filipinos everywhere. The bank has consistently been acknowledged as one of Asia’s leading companies, ranking among the country’s top universal banks in terms of profitability and efficiency. Over the years, UnionBank has garnered numerous awards and recognitions, including “Marketing Company of the Year” at the 42nd Agora Awards and “Asia Trailblazer Institution of the Year” from Retail Banker International. UnionBank is determined to be an enabler of the Philippines’ bid to be a G20 country by 2050, standing firm in its promise to power the future of banking while co-creating innovations for a better world.
About the FICO® Decision Awards
The FICO Decision Awards recognize organisations that are achieving remarkable success using FICO solutions. A panel of independent judges with deep industry expertise evaluates nominations based upon measurable improvement in key metrics; demonstrated use of best practices; project scale, depth and breadth; and innovative uses of technology. The 2025 judges are:
- Regan Goble, risk analytics senior manager at Westpac NZ (Previous Winner)
- Megha Kumar, research vice president at IDC
- Joe McKendrick, analyst and senior contributor at Forbes
- Luiz Pacete, technology and marketing industry influencer
- Ali Paterson, founder and editor-in-chief at Fintech Finance
- Mike Roberts, head of unsecured retail risk at HSBC UK bank (Previous Winner)
- Erin Stillwell, EVP, payment partnerships at Blankfactor
- Allan Tan, group editor-in-chief at Cxociety
About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.
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Contacts
RICE Communications for FICO
fico@ricecomms.com
Saxon Shirley
FICO
+65 9171 0965
saxonshirley@fico.com
