Who is the best bank in the Philippines? This is one of the common question we hear when someone are trying to review a local bank when they have plan to open a savings account or do other transactions.
It is common to most of Filipinos to validate information and follow recommendation from friends, relatives and others but sometimes, expectations still failed.
On this short article, I will share 5 simple tips that can help you decide which is the best bank in the Philippines for you. Let’s go!
5 Simple tips when choosing bank in the Philippines
1. Customer service
On my own opinion, this is still the first consideration we need to look when we are choosing which bank should we open an account or do our transaction. Some of the local banks are known for good customer service while others are not.
I experienced some of the ‘inconvenience‘ before due to poor customer service on one of our local banks here. To me, this is my first and most important aspect when choosing a bank.
Online and offline customer service is very important, we should highly consider it!
2. Convenience
Another good thing to consider when choosing which is the best bank in the Philippines for you is your convenience. Better to choose those who are always available and near to you so you can do your transaction without hassle.
Additionally, it can help you save time and money if your chosen bank is near at your place.
3. Security
Security is another important factor to consider. Fraud and identity theft are scattered all over the Philippines and personal banking is one of the major targets.
When you choose your bank, make sure online and offline security are being considered. OTP or one time password is a great security feature for an online banking facility while secured locations of ATM machines are also needed for offline security.
You can also check my previous article that share 6 practical steps for a secured online banking.
4. Stability
Of course, if you’re putting your hard-earned money on the banks(emergency fund) it is also good thing to consider about their stability. I’d rather choose those major banks than those who didn’t yet established a good banking history.
Although most of the depositors are insured almost the same way with one another (P500,000 with PDIC) in almost all local banks, it is still good thing to keep in mind that major banks are the ones can cope up during downtime and fluctuation of the economy.
5. Rewards
One last tip I would like to share in choosing the best bank in the Philippines for you is the rewards, interest or whatever you call it.
Though we need to make sure that the banks we chose is really helping us to achieve our financial goals, it is also important thing to consider what rewards or how the banks going to rewards our ‘business’ with them. Remember that you are the customer and you are the one doing favor on those banks.
Interest rates, rebates, reward points, reward gifts are other considerable things when choosing which is the best bank in the Philippines.
The 5 simple tips mentioned above are just from the top of my head. It is a personal list. I know there are other things need to consider but these are what I can share for now. If you have something in mind, please share it here so we can inform others.
Every other banks has their own advantages and disadvantages. Each of them has their own strength and limitations. Choosing which is the best bank for you is really a personal preference though the 5 simple tips above can provide you suggestions.
We should always remember that whatever banks we chose, it should help us achieve our financial goals.
Your blog is very impormative,especially this one(about 3 major banks)but how u determine this i mean why do u consider these 3 banks as “major”or top 3 banks?
If you were tp choose, what bank is it?
We have BDO, BPI, Metrobank for different purposes. Thanks!
Hi! Found this through google search. This is great! I do however have a few suggestions, if you happen to have the information on hand:
– convenience: particulars (ie, BDO is good if you live around SM malls. CBDs like Makati and Ortigas are likelier to have the less “mainstream” banks like EastWest and. BPI has machines that can let you deposit “anytime” i.e. in real time because they have those machines outside their banks. BPI also has them, but only inside banks so restricted to banking hours only.
– who has the best remittance rates? I have overseas clients and often need to transfer cash from either having it wired or paypal. The Philippines has a growing population of online workforce, especially as we’re getting outsourced more and more so I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on this. So far EastWest has served those needs (most “bang for your buck” with regards to their transfer fees), but I’d like to know if this is really the best bank for this specific need etc
– tech aspect/online banking: who has the most intuitive interface? who can transfer cash virtually and have it reflect on accounts real time? who charges the least if youre doing cross-bank cash transfers? which banks already offer those EMV cards (the ones that can ACTUALLY TRULY protect my data if some bozo decides to just capture my details with some magnet)
tbh I wouldn’t even look at “rewards” anymore since, let’s be real, they’re never tangible enough to make any real impact on individual account holders’ finances. See statistic from Jan 2017 about how 86% of Pinoys have no bank deposits, so let’s maybe focus on other aspects of what makes a “good bank” that could actually make an impact on an individual account holder’s life hehe
ps attaching my email to this since I’d really want a heads up if you end up updating this with any answers to any of my questions! Thanks again for posting this guide! 😀
I just want to ask if it is good for me to deposit my money in Security Bank? I mean was it a good decision? I could have chosen BDO by the way…but still…was it a good decision?