Apple Pay seen to lift UnionBank card usage

MANILA, Philippines — Union Bank of the Philippines is expecting Apple Pay to drive higher card usage and eventually contribute to revenues as early customer enrollments point to growing appetite for mobile contactless payments.

In an interview with The STAR, UnionBank chief marketing and experience officer Albert Cuadrante said the bank saw a “surge of enrollments” among both debit and credit cardholders following Apple Pay’s launch in the Philippines earlier this month.

“We were very happy that our customers were very excited about the launch of Apple Pay, as evidenced by the surge of enrollments we got for both debit and credit cardholders and by users posting videos of their successful payment transactions online,” Cuadrante said.

The Aboitiz-led bank did not disclose enrollment figures, saying it remains too early to estimate Apple Pay’s eventual share of its card transactions.

Still, Cuadrante expects the service to encourage customers to use their cards more frequently while gradually shifting some transactions away from physical cards.

Asked whether adoption could have a material impact on UnionBank’s interchange income, fee income or overall card revenues, Cuadrante said: “As adoption increases, it should.”

Apple Pay debuted in the Philippines earlier this month with UnionBank, China Banking Corp., GoTyme Bank and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. as its first participating banks.

Cuadrante said Apple Pay could also help accelerate the broader shift toward digital transactions.

With digital payments accounting for around 65 percent of retail transaction volume in 2025, he said the share could approach 75 to 80 percent by yearend.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this helps push digital payments in retail transactions close to 75 to 80 percent by the end of 2026,” he said.

Merchant payments accounted for 74 percent of digital payments last year.

Cuadrante said Apple Pay could push usage higher across retail categories, particularly in transport given its compatibility with wearables such as the Apple Watch.

“We may see increased usage in transport, particularly in train stations that already support contactless payments,” he said.

UnionBank also had a technological head start in joining the initial Apple Pay rollout.

Cuadrante said the bank had already introduced mobile tap-to-pay through its app by the middle of last year, meaning much of the infrastructure needed for tokenized payments was already in place.

“Much of the heavy lifting and foundational technology for tokenized payments had been done and were already in place for us to more easily enable Apple Pay relative to those who were still building this capability,” he said.

Cuadrante said the bank wanted customers in the Philippines to have access to the same payment experience already available in other markets where Apple Pay has been rolled out.