PLDT, Smart School-in-a-Bag reaches more learners in PH, scaling record 116K
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) continue to bring inclusive quality education to last-mile communities in the Philippines. The PLDT Group’s School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) are reaching the country’s far-flung provinces, boosting the government’s efforts to improve learning outcomes of Filipino students.
Huawei Philippines collaborated with PLDT and Smart to donate one SIAB package to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) that the agency has deployed to Batanes, the Philippines’ northernmost province. The tech company also worked with the PLDT Group to deploy two SIAB packages in Allen and Mapanas, both fifth class municipalities, in the province of Northern Samar.
Together with partners, PLDT and Smart, have deployed more than 650 SIAB packages all over the Philippines since the program was launched in 2016. So far, SIAB has reached more than 116,000 students and almost 7,000 teachers nationwide.
The portable digital classroom allows remote learning in last-mile schools and complements the Department of Education’s ‘MATATAG’ curriculum. Each package contains a laptop and 10 tablets pre-loaded with DepEd curriculum-based learning materials, mobile Wi-Fi, and expandable storage devices. The initiative also includes teacher training and year-long monitoring support for better implementation.
The DepEd has recognized PLDT and Smart as long-standing partners in improving the quality of education in the Philippines. Across the country, PLDT and Smart have helped learners and educators transition to the new normal of education whether schools opt for full on-site learning or hybrid mode where students alternate between face-to-face classes and distance learning through education programs powered by digital innovations.
The School-in-a-Bag highlights PLDT, Smart and PSF’s commitment to inclusive quality education through Information and Communications Technology, content, pedagogy, and capacity building to ensure that there is #NoLearnerLeftBehind. This initiative is also aligned with the UNSDG #4: Quality Education.
Kyndryl and BPI celebrate 10 years of strategic partnership
Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), a leading provider of financial services and an industry pillar in the Philippines, commemorate the 10th anniversary of their technology infrastructure services partnership that underpins BPI’s robust IT governance framework.
Over the past decade, BPI made significant advancements across its Data Center Operations, Server and Storage Management, IT Service Desk, Security Management, and Asset Management operations, fine-tuning standard procedures and tools across its organization. Through its partnership with Kyndryl, BPI, with its substantial network of 752 branches across the country, has grown its technical talent and is now taking advantage of advanced technology solutions to foster its ongoing digital transformation and is working to create a seamless customer experience for its clientele.
Kyndryl is investing in the Philippines and is committed to continuing to enhance its local delivery capabilities to support customers in the Philippines and abroad as they accelerate their plans to modernize, digitally transform and build operational resiliency. As the nation continues to grow its digital competitiveness, Kyndryl in collaboration with BPI, is focused on the education, skill advancement and experience of its local workforce to take advantage of the latest technologies in the areas of automation, cloud, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Cebuana Lhuillier continues relentless mission to empower MSMEs
Cebuana Lhuillier, the country’s leading microfinance services provider, continues its aggressive push to empower micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) as it combines forces with SeaMoney, an affiliate of the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Shopee.
The Cebuana Lhuillier-Shopee partnership enables MSMEs to accelerate their businesses further by giving current and potential customers access to the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment option through SPayLater, which is offered on Shopee.
Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier is elated over the partnership: “Cebuana Lhuillier and Shopee’s partnership is a significant development in the Philippine e-commerce landscape. It is a testament to both our companies’ commitment to empower online sellers and consumers.”
Recently, Cebuana Lhuillier also opened the doors to the Kanegosyo Center, a one-stop shop that not only teaches MSMEs how to manage their businesses and budding entrepreneurs how to start their own, but also guides them every step of the way using products and services that help them thrive and prosper.
In its newest alliance with SeaMoney, Cebuana Lhuillier continues to forge on with its mission of financial inclusion for MSMEs, whose impact on economic progress is irrefutably significant at this time.
Smart partners with UnionBank to reward subscribers with up to P5,000 Welcome Gift
Smart subscribers have one more reason to celebrate the new year as mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has teamed up with Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) to bring more exclusive rewards to subscribers with their new UnionBank Credit Card.
Under this exciting partnership, qualified Smart Prepaid subscribers will receive a P2,000 Welcome Gift with their new UnionBank Rewards Credit Card, while qualified Smart Postpaid and Smart Infinity subscribers will receive a P5,000 Welcome Gift with their new UnionBank Rewards, UnionBank Miles+, or UnionBank Reserve Credit Card.
On top of this Welcome Gift, UnionBank Reserve cardholders may also redeem as much as P18,000 worth of eGift from Giftaway merchants with an accumulated spend of P40,000 within 60 days of card approval.
This exclusive promo will run until February 29, 2024.
Smart’s collaboration with UnionBank is part of its thrust to bring exclusive rewards and epic lifestyle treats to the fingertips of subscribers on top of empowering them with the best mobile network experience possible.
Manulife inks partnership with Forticare Health Systems
Manulife Philippines, the local arm of leading global financial services provider Manulife, recently partnered with Forticare Health Systems International, Inc., one of the country’s leading health maintenance organizations (HMO), to become its sole provider of group life insurance bundled with Forticare’s existing HMO products.
Through this collaboration, Forticare customers can get additional benefits to their current healthcare plans, including basic life insurance coverage, total and permanent disability, critical illness rider, hospital income, terminal illness, and family assistance.
Malayan Insurance on the value of stability amid challenging global climate
Amid the challenging global market climate, leading non-life insurance company Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. (MICO) remains strong and stable.
Among these challenges are pricing amid rising inflation, ongoing geo-political issues and the Philippines’ vulnerability to natural disasters which have contributed to increasing non-life insurance premiums as well as reinsurance rates.
Malayan has been expanding its retail business which is less reliant on reinsurance. Malayan’s overall earnings on motor insurance products, one of Malayan’s core retail lines, and investment income are seen as major contributors to the company’s strong performance.
Malayan recently retained its B++ Financial Strength rating and received long-term issuer credit rating of “bbb” (good) from international credit rating agency AM Best, a global authority for rating insurance companies.
Malayan continues to work on best practices to improve accessibility and reliability by launching the following efforts last year: the MICA Portal, an assistive technology developed to enable agents in generating insurance quotations for clients; an improved Malayan website to provide ease of transaction; and a Customer Experience (CX) Unit to establish best customer experience practices.
Malayan Insurance’s 94 years in the insurance business serves as a testament to its commitment to provide protection in terms of quality insurance products and timely payment of claims to the insuring public. The year 2023 also marked the 54th year that Malayan has been the biggest Philippine non-life insurance company in terms of gross premiums written (GPW), based on the Insurance Commission (IC) reports.
Bayad strikes alliance with Pisopay.com
Bayad, the pioneer brand in the outsourced payment collection system in the Philippines, beefs up its partnership with Pisopay.com Inc., a cloud-based financial application provider taking a more aggressive stance in the e-commerce industry through its remittance and bills payment services.
Under the partnership, Pisopay.com will integrate its biller brands with Bayad, allowing Bayad’s physical and digital touchpoints to accept payments for government institutions like Bureau of Quarantine, LTFRB, and selected LGUs nationwide, academic institutions like Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, National Maritime Polytechnic, Baliwag Maritime Academy and Scuola Maria in Batangas, e-commerce business like Palengke.PH, and many others.
Pisopay.com chairman Jae Jung Jang also shares: “Pisopay is your worry-free financial partner, powering businesses with fast, secure payments, collection, and remittances. We’re a one-stop shop, simplifying complex finances through trusted technology… (for) communities that are unbanked, providing a seamless service, wherever and whenever.”
UnionBank improves fraud detection rate, turnaround time with AI
Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently conducted a study to test a new method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and graph analytics to detect fraudulent transactions more efficiently, leveraging the Bank’s capabilities to better safeguard its customers.
Developed by UnionBank’s Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Center of Excellence team, the new method provided nuanced insights into fraud which can potentially improve systems to effectively mitigate financial risks and enhance decision-making processes, making them more accurate, faster, and efficient.
UnionBank used graph analytics to scrutinize the intricate relationships between transactions. For instance, fraudsters often involve intermediary accounts to secretly facilitate money laundering across a network. By expanding their analysis to three degrees of connection instead of just the first degree, the Bank was able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the risks associated with different fraudulent activities.
This approach allowed the Bank to quantify the number of connections associated with each account, identify those acting as middlemen, and evaluate their proximity to other accounts to determine the speed of fund transfers. Subsequently, they studied how these measures correlate with fraud in different degrees of connection previously mentioned, to determine which indicator is most relevant in those scenarios.
Tailoring fraud indicators to each degree proved effective, as results showed that 19% more fraudulent transactions were detected by applying fraud indicators to include second and third degrees, with 80% saved for the turnaround time.
This breakthrough is timely, as fraudsters are continuously becoming more innovative in executing attacks, especially those directed at banking systems and their customers.
