Basic deposit accounts grow to 24.2M in 2023
BASIC deposit accounts (BDAs) in the country rose to 24.2 million at end-2023, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
The number of BDAs jumped by 58% as of the fourth quarter of 2023 from the 15.3 million accounts recorded a year prior, the BSP said in a social media post.
It was also 2.5% higher than the 23.6 million recorded as of end-September 2023.
Meanwhile, the total value of BDA deposits more than tripled (207%) to P36.7 billion at end-2023 from P11.96 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
This was also up by 3% from the P35.6 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2023, central bank data showed.
BDAs were introduced in 2018 and are meant to promote financial inclusion and address the needs of unbanked and underserved Filipinos.
This type of account has a low opening amount of P100 or less, no maintaining balance requirement, no dormancy charges, a maximum balance of P50,000, and requires only simple identification documents.
Basic deposit accounts can also earn interest of up to 4% per annum in select banks.
In 2022, the central bank directed lenders to limit BDAs to one per depositor.
The BSP targeted to bring at least 70% of Filipino adults into the formal financial system by end-2023. Officials earlier said they were confident the target was met amid the rising adoption of e-wallets and online payments.
The share of Filipinos with bank accounts reached 65% of the adult population in 2022, central bank data showed. — L.M.J.C. Jocson
