UnionBank, a technology-centred bank based in the Philippines, has this week announced a substantial redevelopment of their customer-facing platforms.

In collaboration with tech giant, IBM, the bank will seek a complete overhaul of their customer-facing apps, embracing APIs to deliver a greater suite of services to their customers.

The IBM Bluemix cloud platform will form the backbone of the app revamp, ensuring UnionBank can scale internally deployed APIs for external consumption, according to IBM.

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are critical pieces of programming infrastructure, providing a communications bridge between discrete software components.

The Philippines-based bank is well-known for its e-banking firsts.

In March this year, the bank launched its New EON, a revamped version of the pioneering internet-based ‘no minimum balance’ deposit account. The New EON allows customers to access their accounts using face recognition authentication – popularly referred to as ‘selfie banking’. Plans are also afoot to offer additional biometric authentication methods, including voice recognition.

UnionBank also developed OneHub.Gov, “the first and only” integrated web platform for e-government initiatives, allowing companies to pay their obligations across a range of government services.