Banking Covid19

ING Banks: COVID-19 Is Causing Fillipinos to Save More

Dutch financial giant and all-digital bank in the Philippines, ING Bank, said that the rise of the “savings mentality” during the quarantine period can be sustained even after the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

Philippine unemployment (rate and forecast, %)

In a report by ING’s research department, as job losses mount and economic prospects dim because of the coronavirus pandemic, more households are likely to cut back further on discretionary funds and build savings instead.

Hans Sicat

“The pandemic has altered the way Filipinos think about and undertake their financial transactions. Right now, more Filipinos are motivated to save more and spend less in preparing for their future,”

said ING Philippines country manager Hans Sicat.

This is supported by reports of increased number of bank savings account being opened for the past few months during the pandemic.

“We want to encourage more Filipinos to adopt a habitual savings mindset, especially as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic changes the way we save and spend. Being the first all-digital bank in the Philippines, we have created a simple and easy way for Filipinos to save. And we are committed to help more Filipinos to be financially included, one savings account at a time,”

Hans said.

Habit formation requires three elements: a cue, a routine and a reward. Hence, ING recently announced that it will further extend its 4% interest promo to end-of-year to help in encouraging a new savings mindset in the long run. New customers who open an ING Save account by December 31, 2020 will receive the 4% p.a. interest rate on their savings for the first 4 months.

Meanwhile, existing ING Save customers will enjoy 4% interest rate p.a. on the new funds deposited to the account from September 1 to December 31, 2020. Both offers are applicable to accounts with available daily balance of up to PHP 20 million, which is double the previous threshold amount of PHP 10 million.

Featured image: Edited from Technology photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com