UnionBank’s takeover of Citi PH: How it will affect customers

Citi recently announced that it has successfully completed the sale of its Philippines Consumer Business to UnionBank of the Philippines. If you’re a customer of Citi and you’re wondering what will happen to your credit card, loans, and deposits, here’s an explainer.

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A quick recap

On December 23, 2021, Citi announced that it has reached an agreement with the Aboitiz-led UnionBank on the acquisition of Citi’s consumer banking franchise in the Philippines. The transaction covers Citi’s local credit card, unsecured lending, deposit and investment businesses, as well as Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. (CFSI), which provides insurance and investment products and services to retail customers.

On April 8, 2022, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the proposed acquisition by Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) of Citibank, N.A. Philippine Branch (Citibank PH), Citicorp Financial Services & Insurance Brokerage Philippines, Inc. (Citicorp), and Citibank Square Building (Citi Square). The Commission concluded that the acquisition “will not likely result in substantial lessening of competition.”

On August 1, 2022, UnionBank completed the acquisition of Citi’s Philippine assets, costing PHP 72USD 1INR 104EUR 1CNY 9 billion. About 1,540 consumer bank and supporting employees will transfer to UnionBank.

So, what’s next?

Continuous access to existing Citi services

On August 1, 2022, UnionBank President and CEO, Edwin R. Bautista, sent a welcome message to its new UnionBank customers and wrote that Citi customers will be able to continue using their Citi credit card(s) and will have full access to existing platforms, i.e., Citibank Online, Citi Mobile App, CitiPhone banking until further notice.

UnionBank advised that existing Citi customers should continue to transact on Citi platforms, Citi branches, or with your Citi Relationship Managers for your Citi-related transactions. All Citi accounts and services like Citibank Online and Citi Mobile App apps, ATMs, cards, branches, etc. will still be accessible on Citi platforms.

This will be the case until UnionBank completes full integration activities between UnionBank and Citi, which is estimated to happen sometime middle of 2023.

Promotions and deals

Bautista also wrote that all credit cardholders will have the chance to win one million worth of rewards points, miles or cash credits, or 1 year’s worth of fuel, weekly. It will also offer discounts at over 1,000 outlets and merchant partners, as well as exclusive deals only for Citi branded and UnionBank credit cardholders, when they shop, dine, and travel.

Changes in Citi Credit Card and Personal Loan accounts

Since UnionBank and Citi are still in the transition phase, the bank doesn’t expect any significant changes to City Credit Card or Personal Loan Accounts. Customers will continue to have the same account number, be able to use existing credit cards, and have access to Citi’s platforms. The same payment channels will still be available.

For existing Citi credit cards, the same benefits and features will remain including waived fees and rewards, as well as card fees and charges.

While Citi customers can still use their Citi credit cards as usual, UnionBank will replace the Citi credit card with the new UnionBank credit card 360 after its full integration which is sometime in the middle of 2023.

Changes in Deposits and Wealth

UnionBank said that Citi customers will continue to enjoy the same set of features and benefits contained in their existing deposit products as these will continue to be serviced on Citi systems. The bank’s goal is to continue offering the same features and benefits of the existing products and plans to make it available even after full integration.

UnionBank will also continue to have one ATM / Debit card for all their accounts and will continue this set-up for Citi customers.

For Citi debit cards, they can be used as usual but they will be replaced with the new UnionBank debit card after its full integration in the middle of 2023.

To sum it up, all Citi customers may continue using Citi’s services as usual. The huge transition will happen in the middle of 2023 when it completes the integration. At that point, UnionBank will start migrating Citi accounts and services to UnionBank’s systems and platforms, while credit cards and debit cards will also be replaced with new UnionBank cards.

The good news is that UnionBank will make the transition as smooth as possible and will inform customers ahead of time before implementing changes. For more information, you may visit UnionBank’s page here.