Union Bank of the Philippines' (UnionBank) digital MSME online platform UnionBank GlobalLinker recently partnered with Seaoil Philippines, Inc. (SEAOIL) for an initiative that will help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) manage rising fuel costs through technology.

The partnership was made official through an agreement signing ceremony last October 26 at the SEAOIL Office in Pasig City. The event was graced by SEAOIL Vice President for Corporate & Consumer Marketing Jayvee Dela Fuente, SEAOIL Senior Manager for B2B Segment Marketing Jonathan Cristobal, UnionBank SME and Micropreneurs Segment Head Jaypee Soliman, and UnionBank GlobalLinker Partnerships Manager Natasha Kosheleva, as well as several team members from SEAOIL and UnionBank. 

Under the partnership, MSMEs on the GlobalLinker platform will be able to avail of special rebates when they purchase fuel from SEAOIL via the PriceLOCQ app or the PriceLOCQ for Business web portal. PriceLOCQ app users can enjoy a P300 fuel voucher with a minimum purchase of P3,000 worth of fuel. Meanwhile, PriceLOCQ for Business web portal users can enjoy a rebate of P1,000 with a minimum purchase of P10,000 worth of fuel.

Launched in June 2020, the PriceLOCQ app allows SEAOIL customers to purchase up to 600 liters of fuel in advance at a set price, which they can redeem at a later date in participating SEAOIL stations nationwide. A fuel management platform for enterprise customers, the PriceLOCQ for Business web portal, was launched a year later, which allows up to 10,000 liters of advanced fuel purchases, among other fleet management features.

“Making Filipinos’ lives better with our innovative products and services is at the core of what we do in SEAOIL. We deliver Alagang SEAOIL by providing our customers with timely solutions to their needs. With economic activities now back at their pre-pandemic pace, it's an opportune time to forge this partnership with UnionBank. Together, we will enable more SMEs to manage their fleets better using PriceLOCQ,” Dela Fuente said.

"Accelerating [the MSMEs'] transition to e-commerce is a very good vision," Cristobal said about UnionBank GlobalLinker, " That’s how we realized that if we partnered together, we'll be able to help MSMEs more: SEAOIL  simplifying fleet management and reducing fuel costs through PriceLOCQ; UnionBank GlobalLinker facilitating online growth with tools for efficient business management and network expansion. That's why we're here. I think this partnership will amplify whatever efforts we have."

"As with UnionBank, we're always open to partnering with anyone. But it's not always like 'you have a good name, you have a good brand, I want to partner with you.' We always qualify our partnerships on who is also disrupting the industry," said Soliman. "If you layer technology like PriceLOCQ, that's when you can really disrupt the oil retail industry."

"With MSMEs undoubtedly feeling the sting of record-high fuel costs, this partnership is very relevant right now. More than that, this is also very exciting for us because it opens up even more opportunities for UnionBank to help MSMEs through technology, which is a key component of our 'Tech-Up Pilipinas' advocacy," Soliman concluded.

Also read: How to succeed in enterprise /startup partnerships

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Image source: UnionBank GlobalLinker