RBAP: Higher microdeposit cap will help poor, rural savers

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' increased ceiling on deposits placed in micro-banking offices (MBOs) will protect poor, rural depositors from "helplessness" during bad times and allow them to save more, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines said over the weekend. "By increasing the deposit cap, we give rural depositors greater flexibility in saving their hard-earned cash," RBAP president Edward Leandro Garcia Jr. said in a statement. The BSP recently raised the microdeposit cap from P15,000 to P40,000. "Usually, depositors in rural areas are badly affected during emergencies because in such cases, they have limited financial capacity or at times totally devoid of money to be used for contingencies," said Garcia. "[T]his increase in levels of micro-deposits...not only give[s] the marginalized sector the capability to insulate themselves from utter helplessness during inopportune times but also put[s] them in a prime position to enhance their respective livelihoods." Under BSP Circular 694 series of 2010, a microdeposit had a minimum balance requirement of not more than P100, non-applicability of dormancy charges, and an average daily savings account balance of not more than P15,000. MBOs collect payments, sell microinsurance products, receive and pay out authorized remittance transactions, act as cash in/out points for electronic money, receive utility payments, collect premiums, and pay out benefits, and purchase foreign currency. Many rural depositors transact with MBOs; according to the BSP, some 37 percent of the country's 1,635 cities and municipalities do not have a single banking office. — BM, GMA News