CIMB VS ING: Which One is Better?

Note: This post was originally published in 2021. Some parts might need updating (for example, ING is no longer available in PH). You can check out their websites (ING, CIMB) to know more. This post is based on how I used the apps in 2021 and not a sponsored post.

Whichever fits your needs. Uy, safe answer! But this one is for someone na nagsisimula pa lang mag build ng savings o kaya 'yung ayaw mag risk sa investment. If you have a big amount of money and you're a risk taker, better put it sa investment like mutual funds. If gusto mong chill lang, then this can work for you.

A lot of people have been asking this question since the rise of digital banking. Lalo na ngayong pandemic na medj naging cashless ang way of life natin. Tho syempre, para sure, meron pa ring mga nagsi-COD sa parcels nila. Pero! May mga promos kapag you opt for cashless payments, lalo sa Shopee na Shopee Pay.

Anyway, hindi naman Shopee usapan natin dito but the comparison between CIMB and ING. Here's a somewhat detailed take on both digital banks. I can only explain the features or services I use so hindi ito paid pero baka naman, CIMB at ING, di ba? Here we go!

CIMB

May tatlong deposit accounts na pwede mong gamitin under CIMB: GSave, UpSave, at Fast/Fast Plus. I'll delve deeper into the first two kasi sila ang mga ginagamit ko and besides, they have higher interest rate than Fast/Fast Plus. 0.50% lang kasi ang interest niya and 12 months validity but if you upgrade to Fast Plus, you get 0.75% interest and longer validity sabi sa website. Sabi sa inyo, 'di ko nga 'to ginagamit! But the good thing about Fast/Fast Plus, you can get a physical card and/or a virtual card when you cash in PHP5,000.00 at once or cumulative. Pwede ang card sa ATM at POS transactions. 

I'll write in bullets dahil bukod sa purol na ako, LOL, mas madali ito isulat at maintindihan. For my benefit talaga ito.

    GSave:

• I just checked, they still offer 3.10% annual interest (this is the highest rate among all accounts we're going to discuss on this page)
• Flex ko lang, we got more than PHP300.00 interest with the savings we had last year under GSave! 

That's the total interest we got since we started saving January 2020!

• Last year, nag promo sila na 4% interest if you continue to raise your savings by PHP1,000.00 per month. Sa ibang accounts, you can keep 4% if your ADB is PHP100,000.00, if I am not mistaken

So inuna ko na 'yung super benefits ng GSave tutal mga interest ang gusto nating malaman dito.

• Ito 'yung built in "Save Money" feature sa GCash

Pindot niyo lang si piggy bank Save Money icon sa GCash app.

• The transactions also reflect on CIMB app
• No initial deposit or minimum balance required para makakuha ng interest
• You can request for a copy of your transactions via GCash app and it will be sent via email
• Very easy to use when you have a GCash account since transfer-transfer lang or save-save lang, no fees
• Before the pandemic, they were at 4% interest rate pero dahil bumaba ang ekonomiya, bumaba rin ang offer but hey! 3.1% is still a loooot higher than traditional banks
• Pwede niyo ilipat 'yung GSave funds niyo sa UpSave account via CIMB app nang walang bayad at real-time din ang transfer
• Pwede for bills payment, use the CIMB app

   
UpSave:

• Serving you 3% annual interest
• No initial deposit or minimum balance required para makakuha ng interest din
• Last year, they also offered the 4% interest rate like GSave's; as in pareho ng criteria since CIMB din ang may hawak sa GSave
• Pwede for bills payment, use the CIMB app
• Transfer funds to other banks without fees! Pero hindi nga lang real-time reflection at may two channels you can use when you transfer to other banks from UpSave account

ALWAYS REMEMBER THE CUTOFF WHEN TRANSFERRING FUNDS TO OTHER BANKS

1. PESONet: Transfers placed after 3:45 p.m. will be settled within two banking days
2. dragonpay: Transfers placed after 1:00 p.m. will be settled within two banking days

YOU DO NOTE!

• Transfers should be done on banking days. Kapag holidays, funds will be transferred after two business or banking days
• Transfers will reflect by the end of the day kung pasok kayo sa cutoff — 11:59 p.m., ganon!

More benefits of saving on CIMB accounts? Loan.

Hold up! I'm not saying na magloan tayo nang mag loan. Better pa rin if we track our expenses and continue saving. But when push comes to shove, badly need, you can apply for loan with your CIMB accounts.

I applied for a 0% interest loan amounting to PHP50,000.00 because I have a good savings account with CIMB, both under GSave and UpSave. Since consistent ako maglagay ng pera, every payday! Oops! Pero hindi para sa akin ang loan. Ako lang nag apply since mas madaling na grant ang loan ko and best, no interest for 12 months! 'Yung other offers nila, PHP30,000.00 and you need to pay for interest like normal loans. All because I have good savings standing (may ganito bang term?!), mabilis ako nakapag loan. Oha, oha! Bukod pa ito sa GCredit offer ng GCash. Within 24 hours ang approval ng loan kapag walang problema sa mga requirement.

ING 

So punta na tayo ngayon sa Orange Lion, rawr!

• ING Save: 2.5% interest, baby!
• Again, no initial deposit or minimum balance required para makakuha ng interest
• For the month of December alone, I got PHP60.00+ for interest! Tamad na ako mag Math magkano accumulated, patawarin niyo na ako but you get the idea

My interest last December sa ING.

• More promos, more fun! Nakakuha ako ng PHP2,000.00 na libre rito when I got a text that I just need to deposit PHP500.00 and then use the promo code. But I guess, they do this to new users or 'yung mga hindi na masyado nag de-deposit. I got that text nung nagsisimula pa lang ako i-build 'yung funds ko rito. Bale parang twice ata ako naka kuha ng message? 'Yung isa, PHP1,000.00 naman so total of PHP3,000.00.
• Also, nung anniversary nila noong October, plus 30% cash gift sa interest na nakuha mo for that month. Cash gift daw to all depositors. So if you got PHP30.00, you get another 30% of that which reflected last November
• Speaking of promos, the 2.5% varies in time... depende sa promo nila! Minsan they will just say na if you save x amount for the first four months yada-yada, you get 4%. Marami silang paandar. Namigay pa nga ng iPhone 11. Amp, 'di ako umabot kasi the next day ng deadline ako nag deposit. Haha! Not an Apple fan, tho, but ING fan. Whoo!
• Transferring funds to other banks is also free of charge, since the beginning they boast!, but also, not real time yet same day
• You can adjust your transfer limit, on your own!

YOU DO NOTE!

• You may transfer funds to other banks from your ING Save using PESONet: Funds transfer from ING to other bank(s) made before 3:30PM will be completed within the same day
• So mga 11:59 p.m. din, ganon
• Kapag holiday or weekend or after cutoff, syempre be patient na mag intay ng two banking days. Kaya sabi sa 'yo, you do note

Best thing about ING for me? The ING Pay.

• Folks! I think this is the best thing that has ever happened in digital banking this pandemic!
• It uses InstaPay without transfer fees to other banks, real-time!
• From your ING Save, lipat mo lang sa ING Pay tapos transfer-transfer ka na!
• You may also use your ING Pay as a digital debit card. Nakipag team up pa sila sa ecommerce stores last month para makapag waldas pa tayo lalo since they gave 5% cashback so all my FoodPanda transactions were paid via ING Pay card. Food is life
• Pwede rin sa bills payment!

You may download and create accounts using the app themselves. No need to go to the bank since digital banks nga sila. Download niyo lang sa Play Store, App Store, or AppGallery.

Personal Hacks

Now that we've gone through their benefits and also the cons, isipin niyo na lang saan ang cons diyan para sa inyo, where or how do I use these three? Here are some personal tips which can be helpful.

• Deposit before the month ends for better interest entrega!

Since monthly nagbibigay ng interest ang ING at CIMB, I suggest you deposit before the month ends. Before 28/29 for February and 30/31 sa ibang month. Para mas sulit 'yung interest na ibibigay kasi mas tumaas 'yung naka save sa 'yo.

• I use all three for savings

When I say savings, dito ko nilalagay 'yung tinatabi ko para galing sa sahod ko. So every payday, naglalagay ako sa tatlong ito. Yes, sa tatlo. Diversify your money, folks. Why? Personally, mas feeling ko kargado ako ng bala kapag ganito. 'Yung feeling na may pwede akong kuhaan saan man. Also, parang traditional banks na ay, ito, pwede lang sa ganito, pwede sa ganyan. So having all these three makes me have different options. Mas malaya ako. Women should have choices, our body, our choice. Wala, singit ko lang!

So what I do, naglalagay ako ng fixed amount sa ING, sa UpSave, at GSave every payday. Naka budget na 'yon. But, I am not saying hindi ako gumagamit ng traditional banks. I still do. I have BPI and BDO. I won't let go of them. Again, widen your options and your money buckets. Saka hindi naman kasi lahat gumagamit na ng digital banks. Also! Paano kapag under maintenance 'yung isa eh isa lang meron ka? See! Pero huwag mo naman ubusin kada bucket. Tira-tira rin para... sa interest at sa future.

• Save with someone

Kaya mas mataas ang interest ng GSave na example ko is because we used it as a somewhat joint account. We saved a fixed amount every payday (ito 'yung sinasabi ko sa GSave bucket sa naunang bullet) and ang ending, mas malaki 'yung interest compared sa mag isa lang akong mag si-save tas same amount. Example, I save PHP500.00 per payday compared sa dalawa kami, we will end up having PHP24,000.00 base na doon magba-base 'yung interest rate.

So encourage your friends, family members, partner, na mag save kayo both. Instead of finding only a financially stabled partner, help or teach each other to get there. NAKS. Gawin niyong alkansya 'yung digital banks na may malaking interest para pagdating New Year, hati na rin kayo sa accumulated interest. 

• I use ING for my insurance payment

I pay my insurance every six months. Dati, tinatago ko lang sa jar 'yung pang insurance ko until the sixth month, pupunta ako ng bangko, magdedeposit sa BPI ko then online payment. Now, I keep everything, from my salary, to my ING. This way, nakaka kubra ako ng interest since monthly nagre-reflect 'yun sa ING at CIMB. Hindi lang ako marunong mag compute pero gano'n 'yun!

So instead na example, I save PHP1,000.00 every payday for my insurance, on the sixth month, I have PHP12,000.00, 'yun lang iyon if I kept it sa jar. With ING, I get, perhaps, plus PHP10.00 or more. Basta, may interest. Sabi sa inyo, 'wag Math, eh! Again, you get the idea. So for me, better ang digital banks kapag may sine-save ka para sa babayaran mo. It grows bago mo pa ilabas. Of course, you can also use CIMB for this one. 

Medj con ko lang sa ING when I did this, nasa 3%+ na 'yung offer sa aking interest if I kept my current balance but since binawasan ko, nabawasan din ang interest rate ko after that month ('di ko naman nabalik din ang amount na kinuha ko). Pero never namang bumaba ng 2.5% since as mentioned, fixed 'yun unless babaguhin nila.

• ING Pay for bank transfers

Again, as mentioned, since nandito 'yung insurance money ko, mas madali sa aking ma-transfer to my bank kung saan naka enroll 'yung policy ko. Lipat-lipat lang. Also, pwede niyo rin siyang gawing bridge sa mga other bank transactions niyo. Sa susunod ko na lang ito ie-explain. Mas madali sana buhay kung gaya pa rin dati na free transfers ang GCash.

Hay, di ko pa rin gets. Bakit sa ING nagawa nilang free, sa traditional bank, hindi. And even with GCash, bakit may fee na hindi naman daw sa kanila napupunta. Weird. Anyway, money is business and capitalism is the root of all evil. Ay, money pala. Ata. "Ah, basta!" Teka, try ko gumawa ng table para kunwari smart tayo na may pa thesis or summary sa dulo. Wait, thesis? Ginamit ko ba ng tama ang word na iyan? So nag screenshot na lang ako ng table dahil hindi ko magawa nang maayos na copy-paste at ayaw ko na mag code ng HTML:

Click the image to check CIMB's transaction limits

At may bago akong nalamang digital bank that has higher interest rate than all these! Pero next time ko na ise-share kapag na aral ko na siya. But initial research, traditional bank ang may gawa. And don't worry, both CIMB and ING are regulated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and just like traditional banks, deposits are insured by PDIC up to PHP500,000 per depositor. Kaya sabi sa inyo, diversify niyo, eh! Sige, kapag nag PHP500,001.00 ka na, 'di na insured 'yung piso. LOL.

So there! Happy saving this 2021! 

Thumbnail photo credit: Mockup psd created by relineo - www.freepik.com