With the enhanced community quarantine imposed right during tax season, UnionBank is urging individual taxpayers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to keep safe and healthy by doing their banking transactions from home, including their taxes.

The bank made the call as the Department of Finance (DOF) appealed to taxpayers to settle payments early and help the government generate the necessary funds to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. It will be noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had extended the April 15 payment deadline to May 15, 2020,

Through a unique ePayments partnership with the BIR, UnionBank provides a direct, free, and easy way to pay taxes online that's available 24/7. The process is completed within seconds in just a few clicks and without any re-routing to different websites.

UnionBank is the only privately owned bank to link directly with the BIR for its ePayments facility.

Launched in April 2019, the BIR ePayment facility is available via UnionBank Online for retail customers and via UnionBank Business Banking Platform for business owners.

Our goal of digitizing payments is in line with our overall efforts in supporting SMEs in the Philippines. We are delighted to be the first privately owned bank to allow our individual and SME clients to settle their tax obligations via our digital channels.

– John Cary Ong, EVP and Transaction Banking Center Head, UnionBank

For large taxpayers, UnionBank is also an authorized agent bank for the BIR’s e-Filing and Payment System (eFPS).  In 2019, UnionBank collected more than PHP338 billion in taxes, representing 16% of the total tax collections of BIR for the year.

At this difficult time where the safety of the public is paramount, a proven, digital payment option where there is no physical contact is very much relevant.

– Edwin Bautista, President and CEO, UnionBank

Taxpayers who are UnionBank customers must log on to UnionBank Online or UnionBank Business Banking Platform, select the Pay Bill section, enter the required details then submit to finish transaction. Meanwhile, non-UnionBank customers can simply open an account electronically by signing up on UnionBank Online for individual customers and enrolling at portal.unionbankph.com/enrollment for corporations and SMEs.