CASE STUDY
Building UBL’s Omnichannel Digital Onboarding
Nearly 100 million Pakistanis are unbanked, and one key contributor, especially for wealth management solutions, is inaccessibility. Investing in mutual funds traditionally meant visiting a company in person, completing a paper application, and waiting for approval. UBL Fund Managers partnered with Codebase Technologies to remove that friction, launching Pakistan’s first omnichannel onboarding solution for investments on Digibanc, which has since streamlined access and increased adoption of wealth management across Pakistan.
Project Overview
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Pakistan’s digitization efforts have accelerated sharply in recent years. During the 2020 pandemic, registered online banking users rose 36% to 13.22 million, growth that has continued as digitalization deepens. With mobile connectivity now at 75.9%, the infrastructure to serve customers digitally is firmly in place.
UBL Funds saw an opportunity to make investment services more accessible to a wider population. Traditionally, customers looking to invest in mutual funds had to visit the bank in person and complete a lengthy, largely manual onboarding process before they could begin investing. UBL Funds partnered with Codebase Technologies to make the journey more seamless, enabling customers to complete the entire process from the comfort of their homes.
Both teams worked closely throughout the planning and development development journey, combining UBL Funds’ deep understanding of Pakistan’s investment market and customer needs with Codebase Technologies’ digital banking expertise and Digibanc platform. Together, we designed an omnichannel onboarding experience that enables customers to open accounts and begin investing remotely, across their preferred digital channels.
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Client's Mission & Expectations
UBL Funds wanted to remove the physical and procedural barriers that kept most Pakistanis out of the mutual funds market. Their vision was an onboarding experience customers could complete entirely online, on their preferred device, without visiting a branch or filling out paper forms. They wanted a journey seamless enough to serve both banked and unbanked customers, support every account type on offer, and fully comply with SECP’s digital onboarding framework.
“Financial technology solutions are outpacing traditional financial services and products at a break-neck pace. To maintain their market leadership, financial institutions must harness technology to gain an edge over their competitors. Partnering with Codebase Technologies enables us to evolve and adapt at an accelerated pace, driving seamless onboarding and empowering us to introduce innovative products and services to the market.”
Yasir Qadri,
Chief Executive Officer,
UBL Fund Managers Limited
How Codebase Technologies and Digibanc Made It Possible
UBL Fund Managers engaged Codebase Technologies from the project planning stage to align on their onboarding objectives, customer journeys, and operational processes. Drawing on these insights, both teams worked together to map and refine the solution architecture, ensuring each stage of the onboarding process aligned with UBL Funds’ business needs and customer expectations.
What Digibanc Delivered for UBL
UBL’s onboarding journey built on Digibanc, using the platform’s existing components configured to the specific needs of Pakistan’s mutual funds market. The solution was structured to meet SECP’s framework for digital onboarding, bringing identity verification, journey logic, and back-office processing together within a single architecture.
Smart Customer Journey Flows
The journey runs on flows with in-built logic, guiding applicants through each stage of onboarding. The screen sequence covers account registration, account KYC, and video call verification.
Smart eKYC Flows
Identity verification is handled through smart eKYC flows embedded directly in the onboarding journey, supporting regulatory compliance while keeping the entire process digital and remote from start to finish.
ID Card Scanning and Video Call Scheduling
The platform supports ID card scanning and video call scheduling as part of verification, giving UBL multiple layers of identity confirmation within the onboarding journey without added complexity.
Full API Integration with UBL's Existing App
Digibanc integrates fully with UBL’s existing app through APIs, ensuring the onboarding experience sits inside the application customers already use rather than requiring them to move to a separate channel.
External and Internal API Integration
The solution uses both external and internal API integration, connecting Digibanc to third-party services and UBL’s existing systems without requiring custom rebuilds or manual workarounds between platforms.
Back-Office Management Workflows
Back-office workflows handle digital onboarding applications end to end, with exception flows and user management built in, giving UBL’s operations team the controls needed for efficient processing and oversight.
Support for Multiple Account Types
Customers can digitally onboard for UBL Funds JhatPat e-accounts, covering both the basic Sahulat account with a monetary limit and the unlimited Samrmayakari account, all within the same journey.
SECP Compliance
The solution fully complies with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s framework for digitization of financial services in the country, giving UBL a compliant foundation on which to scale digital onboarding.
Outcomes
The collaboration between Codebase and UBL Fund Managers created a lasting impact not only for customers, but also for UBL Fund Managers from a business perspective and the wider Pakistani market.
For UBL Fund Managers
UBL’s expanded digital capabilities solidified its position as an innovator and leader in Pakistan. The solution drove an increase in new-to-Asset-Management customers and expanded the company’s reach beyond physical branch limits. With Digibanc’s flexible architecture, UBL has a foundation for future integrations, partnerships, and unique products and services.
For Customers
UBL Funds are now within reach of over 230 million Pakistanis looking to begin their investment journeys. The seamless, omnichannel experience is easy enough for any customer to complete on their preferred device, opening access to wealth-building for people previously excluded from the investment market.
For the Pakistani Market
Together, Codebase and UBL Funds drove financial inclusion at national scale, helping bring the Pakistani economy closer to prosperity by extending investment and micro-savings access to millions.
“Codebase Technologies was a strong and committed partner on our digital endeavor. The project benefitted greatly from the chemistry of both teams and Codebase Technologies experience in similar projects, industry expertise, and their passion to deliver great quality to tight deadlines was a perfect complement to our team.”
Ashar Siddiqui,
Head of IT,
UBL Fund Managers Limited
Frequently Asked Questions
What is UBL Fund Managers' omnichannel onboarding solution?
It is Pakistan’s first omnichannel onboarding solution for investments, built by Codebase Technologies for UBL Fund Managers on Digibanc platform. It allows customers to mutual fund accounts and begin investing entirely online, on their preferred device, without visiting a branch or completing paper forms.
What platform powers UBL's digital onboarding?
The solution is built on Codebase Technologies’ award-winning Digibanc™ platform. The onboarding journey was created by configuring Digibanc modules, including smart eKYC, customer journey flows, API integrations, ID card scanning, video-call scheduling, and back-office workflows.
How does the onboarding process work?
Customers complete the process entirely online. The journey covers account registration, account KYC, and video call verification, with ID card scanning built in for identity confirmation. Customers can start and finish the process from home, work, or anywhere.
Which account types can customers open?
Customers can digitally onboard for UBL Funds JhatPat e-accounts, covering both the basic Sahulat account with a monetary limit and the unlimited Samrmayakari account.
How does the solution support future growth?
Digibanc’s open, component-based architecture integrates easily with third parties and legacy systems through APIs. This allows UBL Funds to pursue future integrations and partnerships, create new customer experiences, and introduce new products and services.
Why is this launch significant for Pakistan?
It is Pakistan’s first omnichannel onboarding solution for investments. The launch extends investment and micro-savings access at national scale, supporting broader financial inclusion objectives and helping drive the economy forward.
