EON Cyber Account
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The EON, officially the EON Cyber Account, is an electronic savings account offered by Union Bank of the Philippines, or UnionBank. It is a savings account, a checking account, and a debit card all in one and has two firsts attributed to its name in terms of two things: first, it is the first electronic savings account in the Philippines, and second, it is a technological marvel in the Philippine setting.
The EON project essentially made UnionBank well-known for its technological advances. At present, UnionBank has over 178,000 EON account holders.
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[edit] History
The EON project is related to the Internet savings accounts offered in the United States at the time, which permitted 24-hour account access from anywhere in the world. Today, this has become the popular product known as online banking and encompasses various types of deposits.
EON was launched in June 2000 as the Philippines' first true cyber account. Other than balance inquiries and bill payments over the Internet, the EON also introduced electronic fund transfers and the electronic cheque. Both are Philippine banking firsts and have thrusted UnionBank into the spotlight, making it known for its technological ingenuity.
On March 29, 2001, the EON added the capabilities of Visa Electron to all its cards. Before this, EON cards were ATM cards with a 13-digit number for use with MegaLink and MegaLink-affiliated ATMs. With the advent of Visa Electron, EON cards became distinct from other products within its type of savings accounts. It became a savings account, a checking account, and a debit card all in one. With Internet shopping capabilities, the EON became the Philippines' first Visa Electron card with such capabilities.
[edit] The EON today
Today, the EON is one of UnionBank's most successful products. Its offerings currently make it different from similar products, which are discussed in the next few paragraphs.
The EON sets it apart from other banks' offerings. While offerings like BPI's Express Cash card and Equitable PCI Bank's Fastcard also exist, the EON differs from these accounts in three ways: first, the EON is a savings account, unlike the Express Cash card and the Fastcard, which are purely debit cards. Second, the EON has guaranteed worldwide acceptance. While this is the case for all of Equitable PCI Bank's cards (the Fastcard and others), the Express Cash card does have international capability (it uses the MasterCard Electronic brand), but due to fears from BPI over the processing of international transactions, the card is recommended only for use in the Philippines (to make sure of this, the card is printed with "Valid only in the Philippines" on the front left side).
Finally, unlike the Fastcard and the Express Cash card, the EON can be used for Internet purchases. Both the Fastcard and the Express Cash card cannot be used for Internet transactions, even if they do bear their respective card brands. This is especially the case for the Express Cash card.
[edit] Features and services
The EON has many features and services, of which some are exclusive to it.
When the EON launched in 2000, the following features and services were introduced, and these services remained until today:
- Account access via the Internet
- ATM access (at MegaLink and MegaLink-affiliated ATMs)
- Bill payment
- Electronic fund transfer
- Electronic cheques
When the EON was added with the capabilities of Visa Electron in 2001, the following features were added:
- Internet shopping capabilities
- Use as a worldwide debit card
- Use as a worldwide ATM card (the EON is linked to PLUS)
