IN A previous interview with Spin.ph, Nexplay head honchos Gab Benitez and Miguel Bernas hinted at a platform-centric, gamer-centered pivot for the esports organization that would reach "the next billion gamers."
Today, Nexplay revealed one of their plans: a partnership with UnionDigital Bank, a subsidiary of UnionBank that has been making headway into the fintech space. The announcement was made in a press briefing.
The partnership between these two organizations aims to help Filipino gamers in their digital transactions by giving them more options besides the usual bank account and debit/credit card transactions.
"Being both tech-forward companies, we will aim to empower the future of the PH gaming community, offering more convenient digital financial services to Filipino gamers. We are very happy to welcome NEXPLAY to the #UDTribe and look forward to building that future together!" said UnionDigital Bank in a LinkedIn post.
With the rise of play-to-earn gaming and content creation in the country during the pandemic, comes an opportunity for these two orgs to forge an alliance. For UnionDigital Bank co-founder and CEO Arvie De Vera, the partnership could open doors for UnionBank to connect with gamers.
“Nexplay opens opportunities for us to engage our country’s digital natives in platforms they are quite familiar with: games. This is particularly important if you consider the rise of play-to-earn gaming and content streaming in the Philippines,” he said.
A big step for Nexplay Esports
Meanwhile, Nexplay co-founder Gab Benito, described this partnership with UnionDigital Bank as an "epic milestone", saying that it's not every day that you see a bank and an esports org team up.
"It's one-of-a-kind and only a tech-forward and a community-centric approach allow these innovative partnerships to emerge," said the CEO in a LinkedIn post.
He added: "For Nexplay, our mission has always been helping gamers succeed. Working with UnionDigital Bank will help crystallize this combined vision of making financial services more accessible to our massive gaming community, our fans, our teams and our talents to enrich their digital experience."
This partnership, Benito said, would hopefully enable greater financial inclusion for the country's community of gamers.
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