Have you been looking for a moneysmart way to earn high-interest rates with savings accounts?
Putting your money in commercial banks can be discouraging, given that you earn about less than 1% annually from savings accounts. With digital banks giving Filipinos the liberty to open a savings account online, there’s no excuse for not setting aside funds these days.
That’s where Maya Bank comes in. Digital banks have been making waves in the fintech industry by offering high-yield savings accounts with no monthly fees or minimum balances.
Spoiler alert: you could earn up to 14% per annum with your savings account. But what’s the catch? Let’s find out.
What is Maya Bank?
Formerly known as PayMaya, Maya Bank is a Filipino digital bank licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). It is part of the Maya family of products, including the Maya all-in-one app and Maya Business.
Maya Bank is the digital banking arm of Voyager Innovations, a leading technology company in the Philippines. It aims to transform the financial landscape for Filipino consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by offering innovative and relevant financial services such as savings, deposits, and credit.
What are the features of Maya Bank?
Maya Bank offers a variety of features designed to provide a comprehensive digital banking experience for its customers.
Here are some of the key features of Maya Bank:
- Maya Savings: Customers can open a savings account directly through the Maya app, which offers a 3.50% interest rate p.a. as a base rate. You can also earn bonus interest rates when you complete the tasks. The savings account allows for deposits and withdrawals at any time without penalty.
- No maintaining balance: There is no maintaining balance required to keep deposit accounts open, making them accessible to the unbanked.
- Safety and security: Maya Bank is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to ₱500,000 per depositor.
- Personal Goals: This feature allows customers to budget and organize their money for various purposes, such as special occasions, vacations, or emergency funds, with a 4.00% p.a. and up to a six-month holding period. Create up to five Personal Goal accounts to earn more.
- Business deposit: A fully digital bank account for businesses that offer free transfers via PESONet and InstaPay and earns interest at 2.50% p.a. You can open a Maya Business Deposit account completely online.
- Time Deposit Plus: A time-based savings account that allows customers to earn higher interest rates, ranging from 5.50% to 6.00% p.a. Grow your funds with a balance of up to ₱1 million. You may create up to five Time Deposit Plus accounts and hit your target amount.
- Maya credit: Provides customers with an approved credit line for various needs such as bills, load, or phone upgrades.
- MSME loans: Offers instant access to affordable long-term loans for business and personal needs.
- Maya Flexi Loan: Provides businesses with extra capital up to ₱2 million that can be used instantly.
- Digital application process: Easy application with just one valid ID required to open an account.
- Free Maya Card: Customers can receive a free Maya card linked to their account, which can be used for in-store and online purchases.
- 24/7 customer support: Maya Bank provides customer support through its app, email, and hotline, ensuring that customers can get assistance whenever needed.
- Access to investment tools: Buy crypto and stocks straight from the app and trade or invest according to your financial goals.
These features are designed to cater to the needs of both individual consumers and businesses, highlighting convenience and accessibility. These features offer the opportunity to manage finances digitally without needing physical bank branches.
How to earn 14% annually with Maya Savings?
It’s unimaginable to earn up to 14% per annum from savings accounts in general, but Maya Bank is doing its best to encourage Filipino consumers to save more and lock them in its e-wallet services through Maya Savings.
And there’s always a catch. If you want to earn more interest, meet the following conditions.
| Interest rate per annum | Task |
| 3.50% | Maintain a balance in your wallet of up to ₱5 million |
| 1.50% | Earn this bonus interest on a balance up to ₱100,000, and you must accumulate a total of ₱250 on any transactions (Pay via QR, pay online, settle bills) |
| 1.00% | Earn another bonus with up to ₱100,000 balance. Then you must reach ₱1,000 spend using your Maya wallet |
| 1.00% | Another bonus earned if you reach up to ₱100,000 and reach ₱3,000 spend using Maya credit, Maya QR, or Maya Shop |
| 2.00% | Another bonus interest on balance up to ₱100,000 and reach ₱25,000 spend thru Maya wallet, Maya QR, or Maya card, or Checkout |
| 2.00% | Another bonus interest on balance up to ₱100,000 and reach ₱35,000 spend thru Maya wallet, Maya QR, Maya card or Checkout |
| 2.00% | Earn another interest bonus on a balance of up to 100,000 and reach one successful referral within 15 days using your username. |
In a nutshell, the base interest rate for Maya Savings is 3.5% per annum, but this can be boosted up to 14% per annum by performing tasks like payments and referrals.
The activities that can help boost the interest rate include buying airtime loads, paying bills, or using Maya Wallet or Maya Credit to pay via QR, Pay with Maya (PWM), or card. The 13% annual interest applies daily but only to the first ₱100,000 deposit balance.
The interest is calculated daily based on the balance at the end of the day and is credited to the account on the next day, minus applicable taxes.
The boosted interest rate only applies to the first ₱100,000 of the deposit balance, not the total savings of your account, and the base interest rate applies to the deposit balance up to ₱5 million.
For example, say you have ₱1 million in your Maya Savings account. Then, you use your wallet to pay a merchant online worth ₱250. You decided to also top up your account with an additional ₱200,000 — all these should happen within the duration of the offered bonus.
You earn interest of 3.5% p.a. from your ₱1 million, and since you completed the task for bonus interest rate, you earn an additional 1.5% p.a. from the first ₱100,000 only. The bonus interest will appear the day after you complete the required task.
Is it worth saving money on Maya Bank?
Let’s look at the major offers and services of Maya Bank and see if it’s worth putting your funds in the rebranded e-wallet turned digital bank.
E-wallet
The e-wallet is easy to use and has a straightforward user interface. Cash-in and send options are on the dashboard, so you’ll find your way immediately to top up your account or transfer to other banks. The good thing about cash-ins is that you can get funds from Maya Savings, linked bank accounts, or debit and credit cards. With your top-up using a credit card, you’ll be charged ₱200 per transaction.
When topping up your wallet using bank accounts—particularly BDO, BPI, China Bank, RCBC, and UnionBank—you can cash in up to six times per day from ₱500 to ₱20,000 per transaction.
Bills payments
Maya supports a few dozen biller categories for settling bills online, like cable and internet, credit cards, utilities, healthcare, and government agencies. Interestingly, you can also send funds to your investment brokerage accounts like ALFM Mutual Funds, COL Financial, First Metro, and VC Corporations as if you’re just paying a biller.
In addition, it also lets you pay your insurance premiums to popular companies such as AIA Philippines, AXA, Sunlife, and Pru Life UK. Memorial Plans are also supported, making it easier for those who have bought accounts at Eternal Gardens, Loyola Plans, Manila Memorial Park, and Golden Future Life Plans.
Credit and loans
If you had used PayMaya a few years ago, you would have been surprised by how the mobile app has evolved from a mere e-wallet service to almost Swiss army knife-like features. This time, credit and loans are available on your fingerprints. But of course, there’s always a catch, and you must be eligible to avail them.
Maya Credit offers up to ₱18,000 max, so you can store the funds in your wallet, top up your gaming pins and airtime load, or pay credit in stores and online. Some are still on the waitlist if you received that prompt in the app, it means you’re not eligible yet.
Savings account and bonus interests
Maya Bank may be good at promoting its offers and crafting campaigns that tap the desires of consumers, such as earning more from savings accounts. While it’s true that you can earn as much as 14% p.a., the tasks and requirements may be a bit overwhelming to some — including myself.
I’d rather put my money in a digital bank that’s seamless. There is no need to complete a task or get entangled with terms and conditions. Just give me the interest rates daily, so I go for SeaBank, even if it’s just less than 5% p.a.
Those who want less friction in saving funds may want to avoid Maya Bank’s tiered-based bonus interest rates — since its main goal is to lock you in its ecosystem. You save, spend, and earn bonus interest rates. If you have over half a million extra, you can play around with the bonus interest rates and complete the tasks.
Maya Bank is head-on in competing with other digital banks like CIMB, Tonik, and SeaBank with its higher interest rates earned by completing specific tasks like saving, spending, and paying bills.
Like any e-wallet, having funds on your mobile app can also be tempting. If you’re not mindful of how you spend, you could end up with a zero balance.
What do you think of Maya Bank? Is it worth participating in the bonus interest rates tasks?