Last year, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) declared that 77% of Filipinos do not have bank accounts. While it is alarming, the central bank announced that more have opened a savings account this year. The growth was attributed to the increase of banking offices nationwide and the implementation of a “no-frills” account that can be opened even without standard identification documents.
GCash has a better solution, though. The app has partnered with CIMB Bank Philippines to launch GSave, a savings account that you can control on your smartphone. It’s one of the easiest accounts to maintain since it doesn’t require an initial deposit or maintaining balance. It doesn’t even have service charges for transactions! The best part? It offers an interest rate of 3% per annum, which is more than 10 times higher than those offered by other banks.
It looks like the partnership and the campaign are doing well since CIMB has achieved its 500,000th customer in just six months after launching in the Philippines. It’s a huge step and a promising sign for the all-digital, mobile-first bank, and for financial inclusion in the country.
To access, all you need to do is download GCash and open an account. Click on the “Save Money” feature and you can start depositing funds! You can even schedule auto-deposits from your GCash wallet so you don’t have to spend time every month manually transferring.
With such an easy way to open an account and start a savings fund, I hope the number of Filipinos without bank accounts will go lower in the coming years.
This story is in partnership with GCash. For more information, visit the website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You may also visit CIMB’s website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.