Maybank’s iSave Perfect for Beginner And Veteran Bankers

I remember the time when you need to be dressed to the nines upon entering a bank. Otherwise, there is this fear that the guards won’t let you in, lol. But now, banking at least has been less intimidating - people from all strokes are seen in casual get-up. Some are even wearing sando shirts and slippers.

Given the less-overwhelming banking environment we have nowadays, one would wonder why some people are still deterred to open bank accounts. Reasons are valid - too many requirements needed; pages after pages of the application form that seem to take forever to fill up; long queues in the bank that literally and figuratively take the whole day just to accomplish one simple banking task; most banking hours coincide with office hours; lastly, for some folks, the opening and maintaining amount most banks require is too much to afford. Minimum for a savings account would be at least 40 USD (2,000 PHP) and for cheque accounts, at least 200 USD (10,000 PHP) is needed. 

I already own at least 5 banking accounts from the top local banks but I still encounter these setbacks. Then I stumbled upon Maybank’s new offering - the iSave.

Maybank's iSave is as an online-only savings account with almost too-good-to-be-true benefits such as: 

(1) No minimum deposit and maintaining balance required. Perfect! One can now have a bank account even without an initial deposit. It can start with small and not worrying too of having to maintain a certain amount just to keep the account active.

(2) Open an account online. No personal appearance needed. No hassle in having to go to the bank, queuing, preparing documents and waiting in line. Paperless and appearance-less! 

(3) The account can be accessed via Maybank2u app (available in the AppStore and google play). Just download, apply using the app and all account information and transactions can be accessed in one place. 

(4) You will also have a physical ATM which will be conveniently delivered to your address, free of charge!

(5) And the most important deal - with Maybank’s iSave, you can withdraw funds at any ATM machines here in the Philippines (and even in some parts of SEA like Malaysia, Singapore) free of charge! Yup, you read that right - no 15 PHP interbank charge when using non-Maybank machines. Top local banks normally have long queues in their ATM especially during paydays but with Maybank’s iSave, you can go to any ATM, I suggest picking the less-popular banks, to withdraw funds without any charge. To my knowledge, no other local bank offers this feature. 

So, I am hoping I piqued your interest and want to apply. After all, what is there to lose, no maintaining, no initial deposit, no hassle. Here’s what I did. 

(1) Download maybank2u in the AppStore or android.

(2) Once downloaded, open the app and immediately you will see “Apply for and iSave Account”. Instructions are very clear and easy. Just input your basic details such as name, address, date of birth. 

(3) Once the basic info has been filled-up, you will be asked to upload (take a picture) of just one valid ID (passport, UMID, driver’s, postal). What you need to do is get a blank sheet of white paper, put your ID on top of it and affix your signature anywhere on the paper (preferably near where uou placed the ID). Now take a clear picture (tip: better to do this outdoors, in the morning to ensure picture clarity or at least do it in a well-lit room, under the light). Click Upload. 

(4) The easiest and fun part - you need to take a selfie too. There is an option there. Allow the app to use your camera. Another tip, no “woke-up-like-this” look, please. Do a little effort to freshen up, comb hair, done a presentable look, do a facebook-profile worthy selfie! Upload this too. This step is just to verify that the one in the ID submitted is the same as the one doing the application. Cool.  

Done! In the meantime, at least. The application normally takes just a day. As for my personal experience, I applied in the afternoon, around 1pm, then at 6pm, I received an SMS notification that my application has been approved. That’s just 5 hours of mindless waiting. Super impressive, right?

You are automatically enrolled in their online banking, too. You can activate your online access immediately so you’d be able to know your account details straight away or you can wait for the physical ATM to arrive. As for me, I was too excited to wait and proceeded to activate my online access. 

To activate the online access of your account, there are two pieces of information that you need namely the FTAC and the IB Access No. both which will be sent to you via SMS and email. Here is the tricky part, I read some customers are having a hard time activating this. But I did not have any problem at all in following the simple instruction. Another tip: the FTAC might be sent to your mobile while the IB No. will be sent to your email, or it can be vice versa. Be sure to check both coz in my case,g they were sent at the same time. I just input the FTAC and the IB No. in the Maybank2u app and proceeded to activate my online access. It was that simple. I now can view my MBB account number and though I still don’t have the ATM, I plan to make an initial deposit the soonest. 

Another sweet deal, Maybank is also having a huge promotion right now with its iSave. For every 10,000 php deposit, customers are entitled to a raffle to be in the running to win a US getaway worth 1M php and consolation prizes of shopping spree worth 300K and 200K. Link provided below. Better apply now!

Maybank iSave, iShop, iFly Raffle