The Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) makes it easy for Filipinos and their families, both at home and abroad, to start investing through its mobile banking app. In accordance with the larger goal of advancing financial inclusion in the country, the country’s first branchless digital-only bank began providing the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) Premyo Bonds2, Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs), and Retail Dollar Bonds (RDBs) in 2020.
Retail investors might use the OFBank Mobile App to participate in medium to long-term government investment products for as little as PHP5,000 for RTBs and PHP15,000 for RDBs. “The OFBank Mobile App not only gives OFWs and their beneficiaries more ways to invest, but it also helps them build the best financial future they can.” “This lets OFWs start putting their hard-earned money into bonds,” said OFBank President and CEO Leila Martin. “This adds to their savings, insurance, real estate holdings, and income from small businesses.”
OFBank ticks a lot of boxes in terms of simplifying the entire investment process in order to encourage people to put their money to work—from removing brokers and traders from the equation to minimizing hard copy application documents; from eliminating face-to-face interactions in physical branches to shortening each purchasing step. The OFBank app, which is easily accessible from Google Play and the Apple App Store, makes the promise of investing in ‘a few clicks’ on a mobile phone a reality.
“OFBank is the very first bank in the country to receive a digital banking license. And we want to continue being the first to reach Filipinos wherever they are, as we are now present in 123 countries. OFBank is here to support every step of their journey to financial stability – from the first time they open a digital bank account, to when they look for opportunities to grow their hard-earned money, and until they reap the benefits of those investments,” Martin highlighted.
These bonds allow OFWs and their beneficiaries a fixed-income opportunity. With attractive interest rates, their investments can earn more than traditional regular deposit accounts and treasury bills. For Retail Dollar Bonds, OFWs and their beneficiaries also welcomed the option to purchase dollar bonds using their existing OFBank peso accounts.
Bonds are also relatively risk-free options as they are offered by the government. Martin also proudly shared, “Knowing that the government use sales generated from these investment instruments to fund the country’s major development projects and pandemic recovery and resiliency programs motivated many of our OFWs and their beneficiaries to participate.” Aside from the Philippines, topping the list of OFW markets which participated in the last bond offering were United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Singapore.
On top of these government securities, OFBank will soon offer more investment tools for retail investors, including the Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF), through its mother bank, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK). UITF is an open-ended pooled trust fund that is invested collectively in a diversified portfolio, offering investors an affordable investment opportunity with a simple, more convenient and less time-consuming method of starting a diversified portfolio.
