ING Bank Manila is keeping its saving interest rate at 4 percent per annum to encourage more clients in creating an account as the need to build up savings increases amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a statement on Monday, the local unit of the global financial institution said that offer was extended until July 31.
“In many ways, we now see that Filipinos have a higher awareness of the need to build their savings and keep an emergency fund,” ING Bank Manila Country Manager Hans Sicat said. “This way, we hope to give our customers the assurance that their money will continue to grow with ING as their sustained savings or for any emergency needs.”
ING Bank’s offer was initially set to last until this month only.
In the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) quarterly survey of consumer expectations last year, the Central Bank’s data showed the overall percentage of households with savings in the second quarter of 2019 went down from 36.6 percent to 35.2 percent in a span of three months.
To note, ING Bank said its offer means customers could earn 16 times more in interest rate compared to most retail banks.
The bank said there is no required minimum amount to start earning interest and there’s also no lock-in period.
Sicat added that the bank’s mobile application will always be accessible to provide banking services to all clients.
“We know that managing your money digitally is highly necessary at this time, so it is important for us to maintain our no-fees policy when customers transfer funds from ING to other local banks,” he said.
Apart from this, ING Bank, along with global processing and support center ING Business Shared Services, vowed to donate 100,000 euros to healthcare and non-governmental organizations amid the pandemic.
Tyrone Jasper C. Piad