Investments don’t have to be big.
The Department of Finance (DOF) launched the country’s first mobile app for small investors who want to purchase retail treasury bonds (RTBs), also known as Progreso bonds. The Bonds PH application will allow them to conveniently buy and redeem these investments through electronic payment channels. It can accept an investment for as low as P5,000.
According to DOF’s official website, RTBs are medium- to long-term investments that pay higher interest rates than time deposits. These are also virtually risk- and default-free because they are direct, unconditional and general obligations of the country.
“The buying and selling of Progreso bonds available through the app serves to further extend financial inclusion among Filipinos while also helping the government raise funds for its COVID-19 response efforts,” says DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
The Bureau of Treasury’s (BTr) last RTB issuance was done last February, which accumulated P250 billion in new money and P60 billion through “switch” offers (investors shifting to a new RTB without extra cost) for three-year RTBs.
The BTr is also set to hold online briefings for cooperatives, insurance funds and other small investor groups in the country—even for overseas Filipino workers abroad such as New York, Hong Kong and Singapore—to promote the Progreso bonds.
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