SeaBank Philippines now looks to be the fastest growing rural bank in the Philippines! It now has thousands of Facebook followers, countless comments and more than 100k mobile banking app downloads!
And from a ranking of 90th in September 2021, SeaBank now is the 4th biggest rural bank in the Philippines, based on total assets as of September 2022!
1. Is SeaBank PH’s High Savings Interest and Daily Posting True?
Yes. The annual interest rate of savings accounts with balances of up to 500,000 pesos is 5%. For balances of more than 500,000 pesos, the annual interest rate is 3%.
Your interest earning is credited to your account daily. It is based on your previous day’s balance.
The deduction you’ll see is the withholding tax, which is calculated by multiplying 20% to the interest amount.
2. Is It True SeaBank Does not Charge Bank Fees?
Yes! SeaBank does not charge common bank fees.
- No penalty for zero balance. No minimum balance requirement.
- No outgoing transfer fee. No fee for transferring money from SeaBank to other banks or wallets via Instapay or PesoNet.
- Initial deposit not required
- No account maintenance fee
- No account closure fee
- No dormant account fee
- No transfer fee between SeaBank accounts
- No fee for bank statement
- No incoming transfer fee. But your source account or wallet might charge you for transferring.
- Transfer from your verified ShopeePay account to SeaBank is free!
3. What type of bank is SeaBank Philippines?
SeaBank is a rural bank.
4. Is SeaBank regulated in the Philippines? Is it licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)?
Yes. SeaBank is a licensed rural bank in the Philippines. You can see its name in the BSP Directory of Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, updated January 3, 2023 and in the BSP’s Financial Statements.
All SeaBank deposits are insured by the PDIC up to 500,000 pesos per depositor.
5. Who Owns SeaBank Philippines?
SeaBank is owned by SeaMoney Holding PH Private Limited and Mr. Jan Frederic Lam Chiong.
SeaMoney owns 60% and Mr. Chiong owns 39.99%.
SeaMoney Holding PH Pvt. Ltd. is owned by Singapore-based Sea Ltd., a global consumer Internet company. Sea Ltd. owns 3 entities:
- Shopee — an e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan
- SeaMoney — a digital payments and financial services provider in Southeast Asia
- Garena — an online games developer and publisher
The chairman and group CEO of Sea Ltd. is Forrest Li.
Sea Ltd.’s total revenue as of the third quarter of 2022 was $3.2 billion, an increase of 17.4% from the same quarter in 2021. Total gross profit was $1.2 billion, an increase of 21.7% from the same quarter in 2021.
Mr. Jan Frederic Lam Chiong is the CEO of Garena Philippines, CEO of ShopeePay Philippines and director of SeaInsure.
6. Is SeaBank a new bank?
No. SeaBank is formerly Banco Laguna Inc. (A Rural Bank Since 1965). SeaBank started in December 5, 1965 as The Rural Bank of Pagsanjan, Inc. Some decades later, it became Banco Laguna Inc. (A Rural Bank Since 1965).
The bank became SeaBank in 2020, after SeaMoney Holding PH Private Limited and Mr. Jan Frederic Lam Chiong acquired Banco Laguna Inc. from Carlo and Marco Cabreza in October 2020. The bank started operating as SeaBank in December 2021.
7. Is SeaBank authorized to offer electronic payment and financial services?
Yes. SeaBank acquired its Electronic Payment and Financial Services license from the BSP in April 2021.
8. Is SeaBank a digital bank?
No. It’s not classified as Digital Bank by the BSP. SeaBank is a licensed rural bank that is authorized by the BSP to offer electronic payment and financial services, but it is not classified as a Digital Bank by the BSP.
It is not one of the 6 new banks licensed by the BSP as Digital Banks in 2021, as described in the BSP Circular No. 1105, Series of 2020. These 5 digital banks are Maya Bank, UnionDigital, OFBank, GoTyme, Tonik and UNObank.
9. Is SeaBank owned by Shopee? Seabank Shopee?
No. SeaBank and Shopee are sister companies. They are both owned by Singapore-based Sea Ltd.
SeaBank Philippines is majority-owned by Philippine holding company, SeaMoney Holding PH, which is owned by Singapore-based company, Sea Ltd., that owns Shopee.
10. Can Anyone Open an Account with SeaBank Philippines?
You can open a SeaBank account if:
- You are 18 years old or older
- You are a Filipino citizen
- You must not be a citizen or permanent resident of other countries, like USA, Canada, UK, Japan, etc.
- And you must have one of the following IDs:
- UMID
- Driver’s License
- PhilID or National ID
- Postal ID (Plastic card version, not laminated card version)
- If you have none of the above, you can present one of the following IDs, but you need to present proof of address, like Meralco bill, phone bill, credit card bill, etc.
- Passport
- PRC ID
- SSS ID with date of birth
- If you have none of the above, you can present one of the following IDs, but you need to present proof of address, like Meralco bill, phone bill, credit card bill, etc.
11. Can an OFW Open a SeaBank Account While Abroad?
Yes. But only if you have a phone SIM card issued in the Philippines and only if it’s registered for International Roaming. Your phone must be able to receive texts from the Philippines. You need it to receive your one-time password (OTP).
Also, the front of your ID must contain your Philippine address. If not, you must be able to present proof of your Philippine address. Please see list of IDs in Question No. 10 above.
12. How Do I Open a SeaBank account?
Prepare your ID. Puedeng UMID, Driver’s License, PhilID or Postal ID na plastic card. Kung ang ID mo ay PRC ID, SSS ID with date of birth or Passport, prepare proof of address, like Meralco bill, credit card bill or phone bill.
I-check mo ang registration steps dito sa SeaBank webpage para madali na lang ang registration mo after ma-download mo na yong SeaBank mobile app.
Download the SeaBank mobile app sa Google Play Store, App Store, o Huawei App Gallery.
Dapat nasa lugar ka na malakas ang Internet signal at maliwanag para sa selfie at pag-picture ng ID. Don’t worry, malayong mabilis at madali ang process ng SeaBank kesa yong ibang app.
13. Does SeaBank Offer an ATM card? If Not, How Can I Withdraw Money from SeaBank via ATM?
Currently, SeaBank does not offer an ATM or debit card. What to do? Transfer money from SeaBank to your e-wallet or bank account that offers ATM withdrawal. Anyway, transfer from SeaBank is FREE.
14. Where are the locations of SeaBank branches?
- Head Office
32 Rizal Street, Brgy. Poblacion II, Pagsanjan, Laguna
Phone No: (049) 501-4213 - Sta. Cruz Branch
Burgos St, Brgy. IV, Sta. Cruz, Laguna
Phone No: (049) 501-0833 | (049)501-2961 - Siniloan Branch
Fernandez St, Brgy. Burgos, Siniloan, Laguna
Phone No: (049) 501-1207 - Liliw Branch
Bonifacio St, Brgy. Ilayang Palina, Liliw, Laguna
Phone No: (049) 503-3311 - Sariaya Branch
Quezon Ave corner Dalis St, Brgy. Poblacion 5, Sariaya, Quezon
Phone No: (042) 717-5958
15. How Can I Contact SeaBank?
Contact SeaBank for any feedback or concerns:
Email address: contact@cs.seabank.com.ph
Phone: (+632) 8891 7927
Monday to Friday: 8 AM to 10 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 9 AM to 6 PM
Holidays: Office is closed
References:
SeaBank’s Financial Statement 2021
Sea Limited Reports Third Quarter 2022 Results
BSP Directory of Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, 2023