With the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) Mobile App, low-risk, low-cost investments are just a few clicks away.
Through its mobile banking app, the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) provides a simple and accessible option for Filipinos and their families, both at home and abroad, to begin investing. 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.
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| OFWs and their beneficiaries can use the OFBank Mobile App to begin investing their hard-earned money in bonds, supplementing their savings, insurance, real estate holdings, and income from small companies. |
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. OFBank ticks many boxes to simplify the entire investment process 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.
“The OFBank Mobile App does not only expand access to investments for OFWs and their beneficiaries, but also opens the path to achieving their best possible financial future. This allows OFWs to start investing their hard-earned money in bonds, complementing their savings, insurance, real estate assets, and income from small businesses,” OFBank President & CEO Leila Martin said.
"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 provide OFWs and their beneficiaries with a fixed-income option. Their investments can earn more than standard regular bank accounts and treasury bills with attractive interest rates. OFWs and their beneficiaries welcomed the possibility of acquiring Retail Dollar Bonds using their existing OFBank peso accounts.
Bonds are also low-risk investments because they are issued by the government. Aside from the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Singapore topped the list of OFW markets participating in the most recent bond offering.
Martin also stated with pride, “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.”
In addition to these government securities, OFBank's mother bank, the Land Bank of the Philippines, will soon offer other investment alternatives for retail investors, including the Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) (LANDBANK). A UITF is an open-ended pooled trust fund that invests collectively in a diverse portfolio, providing investors with an affordable investment option as well as an easier, more convenient, and less time-consuming manner of beginning a diversified portfolio.