Best Savings Account in the Philippines Without Maintaining Balance

Owning a bank account is very essential tool for personal finance. Actually, having your own savings account is a must if you’re an OFW or an employee. Though still many people who work abroad don’t have savings account because of many different reasons.

Some people, maybe, don’t realize the necessity and importance of owning a bank account because at the first place it requires money as initial deposit and other necessary documents should be submitted to the bank. However, as the time goes by, more and more banks make opening a savings account easier and affordable.

In the past, there are many restrictions and requirements you need to do when opening and maintaining your account. If you will open a savings account, you should put an initial deposit to your account and afterwards, you must maintain a certain amount so that it will not be closed or it will remain active in the future.

In this post, I would like to give you a list of best savings account in the Philippines without maintaining balance. Do you know what is maintaining balance? It is the balance or amount of money that you should maintain in your savings account so that the bank will not charge you a certain fee which is normally in the range of P200 - P300. Here’s the list.

1. BDO Kabayan Savings Account

Banco de Oro (BDO) Kabayan savings account is especially catered to OFWs and their families. You should use it as a remittance account or it will be converted automatically into a regular savings account.

The initial deposit for this type of account is only P50 for peso account or $100 for dollar account. Only one (1) valid ID with picture and one (1) 1×1 photo are needed to open an account. It comes with an ATM debit card and passbook.

BDO Kabayan savings account has zero maintaining balance requirement provided you have inward remittance transaction at least once a year. It can also be used to pay your loans and insurance through automatic debit arrangement (ADA).

For seamen employed by POEA-accredited shipping companies, they can open a BDO Kabayan shipping dollar account where they can directly credit their remittance. The requirements will be the following for opening this kind of account:

• US $10 initial deposit, one (1) valid ID with picture, one (1) 1×1 ID picture and a valid seaman’s book

2.BPinoy Savings Account

Similar with BDO Kabayan savings account, BPinoy savings account is intended for OFW and their beneficiaries. There’s no initial deposit requirement for this kind of account.

In addition, there’s no maintaining balance for this account provided that there is a remittance transaction at least once in every 3 months. With this account, you may access your BPinoy account in any Expressnet, Bancnet, and Megalink ATM nationwide.

You may also withdraw cash from any Cirrus-affiliated ATM in more than 210 countries worldwide in the currency of the country you are in. This type of account can also be used for cashless shopping via the Express Payment System (EPS) at any accredited establishments nationwide.

With this, you can monitor your account balance, transfer money to other BPI accounts, pay bills and reload your phone or other people’s phone via BPI ATM, BPI Express Mobile, Express Online and Express Phone.

3. BPI Easy Saver

BPI Easy Saver savings account is another product from Bank of the Philippine Islands that can be very good for people who don’t have big amount of money but want to open their own savings account. Easy Saver is a savings account best suited for students and people who doesn’t have a regular income.

The initial deposit for this type of account is only P200 but you need to pay P50 for the ATM card. All in all, you need to have P250 in order to open this account.

There’s no maintaining balance for this, however, you will be charged P5 for every withdrawal in the ATM and P100 when withdrawing money via bank teller. Thus, it is not advisable not to get the ATM card because of the high fee of withdrawing using bank teller.

You can use BPI Easy Saver account as a payment tool in the supermarket, drug stores and malls similar to a debit card. You may also apply Internet banking so that you can check and monitor your balance via the web.

4. Metrobank OFW Peso Savings Account

Metrobank OFW Peso savings account is a special bank account for OFW and their beneficiaries. There’s no maintaining balance for this type of savings account as long as there is at least one remittance transaction per year into this account.

The initial deposit for opening this account is only P50 with no maintaining balance provided you make at least one remittance each year. In order for this account to earn interest, it must have P10,000 minimum balance.

It will be closed when the balance is zero for 3 months so make sure to put or leave some money to avoid closure of your account. It will be converted to a regular savings account when there’s no remittance within the 6 month-period.

5. PSBank Overseas Filipino Savings Account

PSBank offers this type of account to all OFW and their beneficiaries. It has no initial deposit requirement and no maintaining balance.

In order to earn interest, the account balance must have P5,000 and the interest will be credited monthly. However, you should avoid dormancy so that you will not be charged P300.

Here are some of the fees you need to pay when using PSBank Overseas Filipino savings account:

6. PNB OFW Peso Account

Similar with the above saving accounts, PNB OFW Peso Account is primarily catered to OFW and their families. It serves as a remittance account where an OFW can send his income to his family in the Philippines.

It has no initial deposit and no maintaining balance requirement. To be able to earn interest, the account must have P10,000 or US$500 minimum balance.

This account can be accessed 24/7 through any PNB branch ATM, BancNet, Megalink or Express Net ATM nationwide. In addition, you can use this savings account to pay your SSS contributions and loans using automatic debit arrangement, transfer money to other accounts online via online banking, and check your account balance online.

7. BPI Globe Banko Account

BPI Globe Banko is the first mobile banking service in the Philippines. It was established in 2009 with the partnership of BPI bank, Globe Telecom and Ayala Corporation.

In order to open this type of savings account, you must have a mobile phone with a Globe or TM SIM card, 100 pesos and a valid ID with your picture. You can open this account through any Banko Partner outlet like Generika, Tambunting Pawnshop, Prime Asia Pawn & Jewelry Shop, Inc., CVM Pawnshop and Money Changer, and MCPI.

See this post to learn more about BPI Globe Banko.

8. UCPB U-remit ATM Savings Account

United Coconut Planters Bank or UCPB has also a special savings account for Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. U-Remit savings account has no initial deposit and no maintaining balance requirement.

In order to open this account, an OFW must present one valid proof that he or she is an OFW by presenting any of the following ID:
POEA or OFW ID with picture
OWWA ID with photo
Overseas Employment Contract (unexpired)
Overseas Employment Certificate (should be within the last six months)
Working Visa
Employment Pass
Resident ID issued by host country where OFW is based (e.g., Iqama, Sojourn, Green Card, Alien Resident Card, etc.)

After that, you can visit any UCPB branch and submit the account opening requirements mentioned above.

Final Notes

All of the savings account mentioned above can be opened in the branch of the bank you’re interested. Normally, you should provide at least one valid photo-bearing ID and a picture (1×1 or 2×2 size). Click here to see the list of valid ID you can present.

Then, you must visit the branch where you want to open an account. In the bank, you should fill out application forms and signature cards when opening an account.

Tagged as: best savings account, savings account without maintaining balance, top savings acccount in the Philippines