Not too long ago, banking meant planning your schedule around branch hours, bringing a pile of documents and cash, and standing in long lines just to open an account, deposit or withdraw cash, or complete other types of transactions. Fortunately, with the rise of digital banks like Maya, you don’t have to live with those hassles anymore.
In fact, as a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-supervised financial institution (BSFI) and the country’s #1 digital bank, Maya has one clear goal: to make banking smooth and seamless from start to finish. This means eliminating these seven everyday struggles that traditional banking used to give you.
1. The Stress of Branch Hours
Banking used to mean carefully adjusting your day around the limited window of branch hours. If you couldn’t squeeze in a visit between 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, your transaction had to wait until you could skip work or file a half-day leave.
With digital banks, that stress is gone. For example, you can send money at midnight, pay bills on a Sunday, or check your balance during a holiday with Maya. Even better, you have access to 24/7 customer service, so you don’t have to wait until the next day to talk to a bank representative.
What’s more, when you want to open a bank account, you don’t need to go out and commute to a bank branch. Instead, you just download the Maya app, upgrade your account, tap ‘Savings’, tap “Start Maya Savings” on the inner page, and you’re ready to start funding your account—all without setting foot in a branch.
2. Waiting in Long Queues
Deposits, withdrawals, or even just getting a new ATM card traditionally could mean waiting for hours. The irony is that you spend more time standing in line than actually doing your banking. Fortunately, digital banking flips that on its head. Your phone is now your queue-free branch. Want to transfer money? It takes less than a minute. Need to top up your wallet? Tap, confirm, and you’re done.
3. Low Interest Rates and Hidden Fees
A major frustration with traditional banks is the combination of low interest on your savings and high fees for almost everything else. This is where Maya Savings makes a big difference. You get a base interest rate of 3.5% per year, which can be boosted up to 15% p.a. If you complete everyday transactions like buying load, paying bills, or shopping online. On top of that, banking with Maya translates to fewer and lower fees compared to most branch-based transactions. As a result, your money finally gets to work as hard as you do.
4. Limited Banking Features
Bank accounts used to be very one-dimensional: a passbook for saving, an ATM card for withdrawing, and not much else. But modern Filipinos expect more flexibility in managing their money. That’s why Maya keeps evolving with you.
Let’s say you want to save for a vacation, a P-Pop concert you want to attend, or equipment and inventory for a new side hustle. Instead of dumping everything into one account, you can create up to five separate goal-based accounts with Maya Personal Goals. Each personal goal account earns up to 8% p.a. on balances of up to PHP 100,000, with tiered interest rates that start at 4% for the first PHP 20,000 and gradually increase up to 8% for amounts above PHP 80,000. This means your plans not only stay organized but also grow while you wait.
On the other hand, if you’re ready to go all-in for even bigger returns, the Maya Time Deposit Plus is your ticket to truly growing your money while staying in control of it. You can lock in your money for 3, 6, or 12 months for fixed rates of 5% p.a., 6% p.a., and 5.5% p.a., respectively. Just pick your term and watch those high returns roll in when it matures.
5. Endless Paperwork and Requirements
Think back to your first experience with a traditional bank. Chances are, you had to bring a stack of documents, like IDs, proof of billing, and payslips. Then, you needed to deposit a minimum amount to “activate” your account and keep a maintaining balance just to avoid penalties.
By contrast, digital banking has minimal requirements. For example, all you need is one valid ID to open a Maya account. It’s a straightforward process designed to make banking inclusive and accessible to every Filipino. We don’t require a minimum deposit or a maintaining balance either. So, if you’ve ever wondered how to open a bank account without the usual stress, the answer is already in your phone.
6. Carrying Too Much Cash
Cash-based transactions are still pretty much the norm. While convenient in some ways, carrying wads of bills isn’t exactly safe. If you lose your wallet, your money is gone for good. Plus, there’s the mental stress of knowing you’re a prime target for pickpockets, snatchers, or riding-in-tandem muggers because you’re carrying a lot of cash on you.
Fortunately, digital banking offers a more secure option. Your funds live safely in your digital account with deposits insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to PHP 1,000,000 per depositor. Plus, Maya is PCI DSS compliant and uses AI-powered fraud intelligence technologies that instantly detect suspicious activities. You also get to protect your account with essentials like 2FA, OTPs, and biometric authentication.
7. Paper Receipts and Manual Tracking
Traditional banking generates a trail of paper that’s easy to misplace and hard to organize. Admit it, you’ve had those moments of digging through old slips, trying to recall when a deposit happened, right?
With digital banking, that hassle disappears. Maya, for instance, keeps a record of every payment, transfer, and savings update in the app. That’s instant access to your financial history, all searchable and digital.
Enjoy Hassle-Free Banking with Maya
Digital banking has changed the way we bank. What used to be everyday frustrations are no longer part of your experience. Moreover, if you’ve been thinking about which of the best banks to open an account with, Maya makes a compelling case. After all, we don’t just help you keep up with modern times. We help give you back the time, energy, and peace of mind that traditional banking once took away.
