Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are reminded time and again of the importance of saving money for their future. It is disheartening to see an OFW who had spent years working hard in a foreign country and endured being separated from their loved ones in the Philippines to come home with nary a cent or any other means of livelihood.
It is a good thing that the Philippine society seems to be encouraging Filipinos now to save and invest. A number of Philippine companies even offer bank products that make the process of saving money a whole lot easier.
One product is the Kabayan Savings Account of Banco de Oro (BDO), a special savings account that is available for OFWs and their beneficiaries.
An OFW can open this account in the Philippines or even while overseas if they happen to be near a BDO partner remittance firm that is authorized to issue this account. One can chose to open a peso or dollar account. The depositor will get a passbook and an ATM debit card.
Benefits of BDO Kabayan Saving Account
· Minimum initial deposit
· *No maintaining balance (one is only required to make at least one remittance a year)
· Remittance is credited immediately to the beneficiary's BDO Kabayan Savings.
· Withdraw anytime, anywhere from over 11,000 BDO, MegaLink, Expressnet and BancNet ATMs across the Philippines, and pay for items at SM and other accredited stores with point of sale (POS) terminals.
· It comes with a passbook so one can monitor remittance transactions.
· They have a system where one can check the status of their remittance online by simply entering a reference number.
*When a BDO Kabayan Savings account fails to have any remittance transactions for a year, it will automatically be converted to a regular passbook savings account. A regular account would now require a minimum balance of Php5000.
Requirements that one needs to submit:
· At least 1 valid photo ID and one 1×1 ID picture
Proof that one is an OFW or OFW beneficiary (e.g. remittance receipt, OFW contract, work visa)
| BDO Kabayan Savings Account | |
| Minimum Initial Deposit | Peso: Php50 Dollar: USD100 |
| Minimum Balance Requirement | No minimum balance required |
| Minimum Balance to Earn Interest | Peso: Php5,000 Dollar: USD200 |
| Interest Rate Per Annum | Peso/Dollar: 0.250% per annum |
BDO Kabayan Savings for Seafarers
This savings account also offers a specific account for Filipino seamen- the BDO Kabayan Shipping Dollar savings account. For a minimum initial deposit of USD10, the depositor will get a passbook. This savings account can also be used by their beneficiaries because they can ask the manning agency that deployed them to directly credit their allotment to their Kabayan dollar account.
