‘Increased mobile financial transactions benefit investors’

The accelerated use of digital processes on account of the coronavirus pandemic helped more Filipinos contribute more to the government’s recovery, according to National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon.

In her speech during the first quarterly raffle Premyo Bonds 2 for the year on Tuesday, de Leon said investors of the second issuance of the one-year retail debt paper came from 70 countries.

They invested about P152 million in funds, she added

Proceeds from the issuance will be used to help finance the government’s economic recovery programs.

Minimum placement in Premyo Bonds is P500, while the maximum investment is P10 million.

“Indeed, the pandemic triggered permanent and far-reaching changes that arguably
accelerated the rise of financial technology,” de Leon said.

She attributed the latest volume to the ability of overseas Filipino workers to place their funds in government-issued securities through the mobile application of the first government-owned digital bank, the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), and the mobile app BONDS.PH.

De Leon said when the pandemic hit the country in March last year, the first quarterly draw of the initial Premyo Bond was postponed.

The raffle draw eventually pushed through in the second quarter, wherein winners for both quarters were drawn.

De Leon said the challenges posed by the global health crisis even raised the question of the probability of another Premyo Bond issuance.

“Yet, here we are right now having our first draw of an even bigger Premyo Bonds, handing out larger rewards to a greater number of potential winners from a pool of investors across more countries,” she added.