My Experience in Getting an EastWest's Basic Savings Account

Last year, I joined this crowd sourcing website which pays a few bucks for every micro tasks that you complete. The cost of each tasks varies depending on how easy or difficult the task is. The easier ones ranges from 0.05 - 0.20 cents per tasks and those which take a few hours to complete ranges from 0.20 - 1.00 dollar. There are also other tasks that pay you more than a dollar, so it is possible for you to earn $1 -$3 per day. However, these tasks appear not too often.

I know it doesn't let me earn that much money but if i save these few bucks, it will grow to a big amount later on. The good thing is I can work at any time of the day and any place that I want as long as I am connected to the internet. I can also use either my phone or laptop in completing a task. Anyway, this is just some sort of a  "sideline" to earn extra income during my free time.

Since this kind of job pays US dollars through PayPal or Skrill, I need to have a bank account or a credit/debit card that is tied to VISA or MasterCard.  Fortunately, after searching the internet for banks here in the Philippines that offer the lowest initial deposits to open an account, I came across EastWest's Basics Savings Account. I immediately visited their website and this was what I found regarding with the details about their basic savings account:

Product Features :
Initial deposit:	P 100.00
Maintaining deposit:	P 100.00
Interest earning balance:	P 500.00
Interest rate:	0.25%
Documentation:	Electronic Statement
Access:	ATM, POS, Online
Over-the-counter transaction fees (withdrawal, fund transfer)	P 100.00

Waived over-the-counter transaction fees up to June 30, 2013

Looks good right? They are one of the banks that offers the lowest initial deposit and gives your account access to VISA.  Other banks which offer lowest deposits and which you can use to open for a PayPal account are BPI and Unionbank. However, I found that EastWest Bank is more suitable for me. :) So, just this month, I went to one of their branches and opened a new basic savings account. After two weeks, they gave me my atm card which looks like this:

Card number and card owner are hidden for privacy.

If you are asking how I opened my EastWest Basic Savings Account, these are the steps that I followed:

• Find the nearest EastWest bank in your place. In my case, the nearest one is in Basak, Pardo Cebu City. There is one in Bogo City but it's not connected to Unibank. By the way, I've learned that there are two "types" of EastWest bank : (1) rural bank "type" and (2) the one that is connected to Unibank. The latter is the one that offers the basic savings account. Make sure you see this sign in front of the bank.

• Bring the necessary documents. In their website, they only need you to bring a valid ID, two pictures, and proof of billing. However, I brought all my documents like NBI, SSS, etc. and photocopied them just in case. :)
• Tell the bank officer what kind of account you want to open. Make sure you tell the officer that you want to open the account that has 100 pesos initial deposit.
• Give the documents asked. As for me, I presented two valid IDs, photocopies of my valid IDs, 2 picture (1x1 or 2x2), and proof of billing (I used an electricity bill). My proof of billing was named under my mother. I was lucky I brought her along with me to the bank because the officer asked for her ID and let her sign a letter or a waiver that testifies that I am living under her household.
• Fill out the given forms and wait for the bank officer to finish processing your account. If you don't know what to fill in a specific field, never hesitate to ask the officer. They are there to help you. This step took me 20-30 minutes to finish.
• Don't forget to pay the initial deposit of 100php.
• Wait for further instructions especially about the date that you will get your atm card. The bank officer told me to wait for 5-7 days before i get my atm card but sometimes the delivery of the card would be delayed so I have to wait for about two weeks.

After two weeks, this is what i received:

(1) password; (2) atm card; (3) General Terms and Conditions

So that is how you open an EastWest Bank's Basic Savings account. This is great for those who wants to save their money little by little. Remember, every penny you save counts.