CIMB Bank PH has been awarded the Best Bank in Emerging Markets – Philippines by Global Brands Magazine. This recognition is a testament to CIMB’s mission to serve unbanked and underserved Filipinos and empower them to pursue their life’s purpose.
Global Brands Magazine is a leading publication headquartered in the United Kingdom that provides opinions, reviews, and news related to brands across the world. CIMB Bank PH was selected based on its exemplary performance, customer-centric approach, and ability to navigate the dynamic landscape of emerging markets.
Before CIMB Bank PH entered the Philippines market in 2018 traditional banking was the norm for the Philippines. Opening an account through a mobile phone and getting an interest rate of 2% was an inconceivable thought, and long waits in brick-and-mortar branches and filling out paper forms were the usual practice. Apart from these, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey also shared the reasons why many Filipinos were unbanked – lack of enough money and lack of documentary requirements were the top reasons. This makes it difficult to open bank accounts that require a minimum maintaining balance and several types of IDs.
CIMB Bank PH endeavored to address these pain points and enable financial access for more Filipinos. Since then, it made it possible to open a bank account via mobile in just 10 minutes and get 24/7 access to your bank accounts on your phone, charge absolutely no fees, and give the highest deposit interest rates. CIMB Bank PH has also made it possible to apply and get approved for a loan of up to PHP 1 million through mobile as well, enabling more than 7 million Filipinos and over 2.5 million lending customers to live their purpose.
“We have always been committed to making simple yet impactful changes to the local banking landscape and promote financial inclusion, and this award reaffirms that we are able to deliver a better banking experience for Filipinos,” said Vijay Manoharan, CIMB Bank PH CEO. “By revolutionizing the local banking industry through digitalization, we changed the way Filipinos bank and provided them with the tools they need to easily manage their finances so they can focus on pursuing their life’s purpose.”
Aside from this award, CIMB Bank PH was also the Best Bank in the Philippines according to Forbes’ 2023 World’s Best Banks Ranking. It has been recognized as an industry leader in the digital banking space and has received 82 awards from various local and international award-giving institutions – one of the most awarded in the country. CIMB Bank PH also pioneered embedded banking in the country in order to be present where its customers are, such as the GCredit feature in leading mobile wallet GCash, or the SPayLater facility in e-commerce platform Shopee—both of which CIMB underwrites.