BanKO, DSWD team up to boost financial literacy

MANILA, Philippines - For many Filipinos grappling with poverty, financial literacy can sometimes be described as a pipe dream.

fAccording to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas report, only 20 per cent of Filipinos actively uses formal savings facilities such as a bank account. Factors for this include cultural beliefs, poor education and information dissemination, lack of attractive products and services for the low-income sector, and proximity to banks, to name a few.

Studies also show that access to such formal financial services would be a significant step towards improving the socio-economic well-being of an impoverished household.

Thus, with a shared dream of uplifting the lives of impoverished Filipinos through financial literacy, BPI Globe BanKO (BanKO) partnered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)  for the BanKO para sa PangarapKO: A Financial Literacy Program through Mobile Banking.

The program aims to alleviate the current financial situation of participating Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries by enhancing their basic financial literacy and instilling the habit and culture of saving among participants.

To realize this, BanKO and DSWD have been conducting financial literacy sessions since April 2014 to 4Ps beneficiaries using its modules to teach basic savings values and budgeting habits.

After explaining the principle of “income minus savings equals expenses”, participants are offered the opportunity to start saving formally in a bank account.  BanKO only requires P100.00, a valid ID, and a Globe or TM SIM to open an account. 

BanKO president John Rubio vows to expand the partnership by extending access to financial and banking services to more Filipinos.

“The banking and telecommunications expertise of BPI and Globe were combined to form BanKO, with the objective of addressing a national concern that impact the lives of Filipinos. Our mission is to provide affordable and convenient access to formal banking services for every Filipino. We want to eliminate the burden of our countrymen who want to rebuild their lives and we are able to do this by supporting DSWD programs,” he said. 

BanKO plans to scale up its partnership with DSWD through conditional cash transfer disbursements, livelihood loans and livelihood through BanKO partner outlets.

In a meeting with DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, BanKO reported that over 50,000 program beneficiaries opened BanKO accounts after attending the financial literacy sessions. 

Within a four-month period, almost 3,000 sessions have been conducted in 10 regions – from urban areas such as Payatas in Quezon City to remote locations like mountain barangays in Tuburan, Cebu, and the island of Culion in Palawan.  A total of 200,000 beneficiaries are expected to start saving through their BanKO accounts as a result of the program.

At least 44,000, or 84 per cent of the beneficiaries, have already been added to their account balances. Soliman noted that the P8.4  million cashed in by 4Ps beneficiaries in the last three months is an indication that the poor are inclined to save, no matter how small the amount. 

“If you give to the poor, they will not squander the opportunity to improve their lives. The support from members of the private sector such as BanKO is integral to our efforts towards development. We are one with BanKO in promoting inclusive growth, and we want to make sure that no one is left behind,” she said.