Value of basic deposit accounts rises to PHP 12 billion at end-2022

More Filipinos opened basic deposit accounts (BDAs) in the fourth quarter of 2022, bringing the value of total deposits to PHP 12 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. 

The Philippine central bank said in a social media post that the number of BDAs in the country hit 15.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, almost double (or 95.4%) the 7.9 million BDAs recorded in the comparable year-ago period. 

In terms of value, total deposits in these BDAs surged by 135% to PHP 12 billion in the fourth quarter last year, from just PHP 5.1 billion in the same period in 2021.

Based on central bank data, 154 banks are offering BDAs as of end-2022.

Introduced in 2018, the BDA is a product that Filipinos can open for a fee of not more than P100. BDAs have no maintaining balance, no dormancy charges, and have simple identification requirements.

The BSP earlier said the BDA was created to meet the needs of the unbanked and low-income sector, helping it improve financial inclusion in the country.

Under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the BSP wants 70% of Filipino adults to have financial accounts and digitize 50% of total retail payments by the end of this year.

Latest data from the BSP showed the country’s banked adults rose to 56% of all adults in 2021, from 29% in 2019. This was driven by the growth in digital payments. — Keisha B. Ta-asan