A lot of banks have adapted to the needs of their customers, providing them with easier ways to go banking.
A number of banks also provide options for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to easily send remittances to their families in the Philippines at affordable rates, with lower maintaining balance requirements for their savings accounts.
One of these banks is BDO which offers the Kabayan Savings Account for OFWs. The best-selling point of the Kabayan Savings Account is that it has a ‘no maintaining balance’ feature. This means that the OFW could send remittance every month even if the account does not have any balance. This is certainly a great convenience to many families.
But a number of OFWs have complained about the account later losing money every month, with monthly charges amounting to Php300! Some OFWs even shared that they lost all their money from their Kabayan Savings Account! How did that happen?
Upon checking their accounts, the Php300 charge was deducted after the account went below the maintaining balance! But how did that happened when the Kabayan Savings Account does not require a maintaining balance?
It turned out that a Kabayan Savings Account should have at least one (1) remittance of any amount within two (2) years. If the account does not receive any remittance within two (2) years, it will convert to a regular ATM savings account and must have a maintaining balance of Php2,000.
How to Avoid the Php300 Monthly Charges?
Make sure to keep track of all the transactions in your Kabayan Savings Account. If you are already using a different account for remittance purposes, make sure to send one to the account within two (2) years.
If you are unable to send the remittance, just make sure that the account does not fall below the required maintaining balance of Php2,000 to avoid the charges.
What are the Features of the Kabayan Savings Account?
- Only PHP100 (for PHP account) or US$100 (for USD account) initial deposit
- 1X1 photo
- One (1) valid ID
- Remitters may qualify for free life and accident insurance. Earn BDO Rewards points too from your savings and remittances!
- With passbook and ATM debit card
- Zero maintaining balance with at least one (1) remittance within two (2) years
