Digital banks changed what a savings account is worth in the Philippines. A traditional bank pays something like 0.125% a year, while the digital banks pay base rates of roughly 2.5% to 6.5%, with promotional boosts that can climb much higher. That gap is real and worth chasing. The part that gets glossed over in every comparison post is that the advertised rate is almost never the rate you keep, and the headline boost almost always comes with a condition attached.

Current base rates, and what they are after tax

These banks are licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and every peso of interest they pay is subject to the Bureau of Internal Revenue's 20% final withholding tax, the same one that applies to any deposit. So your real yield is the advertised rate times 0.8. The table below pairs the base rate with what it actually nets you, because the after-tax column is the only one worth comparing across banks.

Rates move often, so treat this as a snapshot rather than gospel; the live figure is whatever the bank's app shows today.

The boost rates have strings attached

The eye-catching numbers, the 14% and 15%, are not base rates, and reading them as such is the most common way people end up disappointed. They are promotional boosts that require you to do something: complete monthly "missions," spend on the debit card, pay bills, or buy load through the app. Stop hitting the conditions and you drop back to the base rate. Some boosts are also time-limited promos that expire.

The condition that catches people hardest is the balance cap. DiskarTech's higher rate, for example, applies only up to a balance ceiling (around ₱49,700); pesos above that cap earn the ordinary rate. So if you park ₱200,000 expecting the headline yield on all of it, the bulk of your money is quietly earning the base rate instead. I always read the rate and the cap together, because a high rate on a small slice of your balance can net less than a modest rate with no cap at all.

Daily versus monthly compounding

A few banks, SeaBank and Maya among them, credit interest every single day, while others credit at month-end. Daily compounding means yesterday's interest starts earning today, so it grows slightly faster than monthly crediting at the same nominal rate. The effect is small at typical balances and short horizons, real over years and larger sums. It is a tiebreaker between two similar offers, not a reason to chase a lower headline rate.

Is my money safe in a digital bank?

Yes, to the same extent as any bank. Digital banks are BSP-licensed and PDIC-member banks, so your deposits are insured up to ₱500,000 per depositor per bank, under the PDIC charter as amended (RA 9576). If you hold more than ₱500,000, the safe move is the same as with any bank: spread it across more than one institution so each balance stays under the ceiling.

Why is my actual interest lower than the rate they advertised?

Two reasons, usually stacked. First, the 20% final withholding tax is deducted from your interest automatically, so a 4.5% rate nets about 3.6%. Second, if the rate you were promised was a boosted promo, you may not have met its conditions that month, or your balance exceeded the boost's cap, dropping the excess to the base rate. Check both before assuming the bank shorted you.

If any rate here is stale or a cap has changed, that is mine to fix, not yours to get burned by; flag it on the about page. To project your real after-tax earnings, including monthly top-ups, the digital bank interest calculator applies the 20% tax for you.

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