With this digibank, withdrawals in sari-sari stores might be the future

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• The opportunity and roadblocks in Uno Digital Bank’s efforts to digitalize sari-sari stores
• Taobao’s moves to challenge the likes of Temu and Shein in broader Asia

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Hey there,

There’s a sari-sari store at almost every block across the Philippines, and the variety of what these shops sell baffles me sometimes. They typically sell basic household necessities like canned goods, soap, and snacks. But I’ve also come across those selling new and in-box phones and jewelry.

Most of the mom and pop shops I regularly visit now accept digital payments, largely through GCash and Maya, two pioneering Filipino e-wallets. It feels like these small neighborhood stores are keeping up with the times, and homegrown Uno Digital Bank wants to be one of the players that move this digitalization forward.

It is piloting UnoBiz, a platform that lets sari-sari store owners accept a number of digital payment methods. UnoBiz also offers bookkeeping features and credit services, which the bank will underwrite.

Additionally, in the absence of physical bank branches, the sari-sari shops also act as “agent bankers,” so customers making withdrawals there could be the future.

Unlike other digital banks working with sari-sari stores, Uno Bank also aims to enter adjacent merchant services like supply chain solutions.

In this week’s premium story, my colleague Melissa goes into why it may make sense for the digibank to enter this “disorganized and informal” playing field, and the challenges that it may face along the way.

— Miguel

THE BIG STORY

1️⃣ Uno Digital Bank takes detour to digitalize the Philippines’ sari-sari stores

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Fresh off a US$32.1 million fundraise, the bank is treading new waters.

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