BSP supports ASEAN Savings Day Celebration

On 31 October 2020, the Philippines along with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will celebrate the first ASEAN Savings Day (ASD).

The ASD, an initiative of the ASEAN Working Committee for Financial Inclusion, aims to raise public awareness on the importance of savings in line with efforts to promote financial inclusion in the ASEAN region.

Starting this year, the ASD celebration will be held annually every 31^st of October to coincide with World Savings Day (WSD) that was launched in 1924 by the World Society of Savings Banks to encourage people to put their savings in formal financial institutions.

The celebration of ASD is well-aligned with the thrust of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to promote saving through a formal account which serves as a gateway for Filipinos to access a range of other welfare-enhancing financial services.

Based on the 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey of the BSP, 53% of adult Filipinos are savers but 51% of them save at home.

The survey showed that while account ownership has improved in the last 2 years, more than two-thirds of Filipinos still lack access to a formal account.

To celebrate the first ASD, the BSP will conduct a series of social media and website posts from 26 to 31 October 2020 to promote ASD using this year’s theme for ASD and WSD “When you save a bit, big things follow” and social media hashtag #savebig2020. BSP will also dedicate a session in its November Financial Education Series to the ASD celebration.

Members of the Interagency Financial Inclusion Steering Committee and the banking industry associations have also been enjoined to participate in the ASD celebration through posts in their respective websites and social media accounts.