BSP: More savings deposit options for kids will cultivate financial literacy

More banks should offer savings deposit products geared toward children to help develop a financially literate population in the future, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters on Tuesday. “A more literate population, including the young, is good for the economy and the financial system as a whole. We will encourage more banks to participate [in the agenda],” he said. Currently, 12 banks are offering savings deposit products for children: Allied Banking Corp., Banco de Oro Unibank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Bank Savings, Development Bank of the Philippines, East West Bank, Maybank Philippines Inc., Philippine National Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Philippine Veterans Bank, RCBC Savings Bank, and Security Banking Corp. Deposit products for children require a minimum deposit balance of only P100. According to BSP estimates, some 31,000 Filipino children currently have their own savings account. “Banks need deposits, and there is a huge youth savings potential that they can tap,” said Jeroo Billimoria, founder and managing director of Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI), an organization whose cause is to bring financial awareness to children through education. At a forum on financial education for children in Manila, she said that banks should be made aware of the benefits of tapping the young market for their deposit products. CYFI's global target is to have 100 million children in 100 countries having their own savings account by 2015. — BM, GMA News