MANILA, PHILIPPINES — In a push to advance its “Tech-up Pilipinas” advocacy, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is entering The Sandbox, one of the world’s leading metaverse platforms. The goal is to promote innovation by engaging and empowering the Filipino Web3 community and artists through activities in the metaverse.
The Sandbox is a community-driven metaverse platform where creators and artists can monetize voxel assets and gaming experiences on the blockchain. It provides a digital environment that is very conducive to creativity and innovation, allowing users to also purchase land and create their own games and events in the metaverse.
With its entry, UnionBank will be able to create a metaverse branch and lounge where users can interact and engage with each other. Moreover, UnionBank becomes the first bank and major brand in the Philippines to join The Sandbox, aligning with a growing list of major brands and personalities from all over the world including Adidas, Gucci, Samsung, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Snoop Dogg, and Atari, just to name a few.
“We joined The Sandbox because we want to be able to interact and engage with growing Filipino community in the NFT and metaverse space. Metaverse services could range from crypto transactions, to the creation of NFTs, hosting of events, and connecting with new clients,” said UnionBank NFT Lead at the Metaverse Center of Excellence Migui Planas. “This is also a new market we want to capture. The metaverse is already being used by generation Alpha, the next gen of customers.”
“The metaverse can also create many opportunities to Filipinos to connect with a global community. This is another way of ‘Tech-ing’ up Pilipinas,” UnionBank Head of Blockchain and API Business Group and Metaverse Center of Excellence Cathy Casas added.
The move coincides with the recent launch of the Bank’s Metaverse Center of Excellence (MCOE), held during the first annual UnionBank Innovation Festival in early September. The MCOE will spearhead the Bank’s initiatives related to the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By immersing through these different platforms, the MCOE can provide insights and learning sessions about this new digital universe to the Bank, its clients, and the Filipino people.
UnionBank’s partnership with The Sandbox is just one of many initiatives related to the metaverse and NFTs. Earlier this year, the Bank also tied up with homegrown metaverse gaming platform, Ark of Dreams; as well as with CANVAS.PH, and Leon Gallery to help artists and collectors navigate the NFT art space.
