So I'm beginning to fully appreciate why MariBank is Forbes #1 Digital Bank in the Philippines. I started on this journey just looking for higher-interest savings products, and initially dismissed MariBank since it didn't fit my initial use case. Now I've shifted my paradigm in this regard, and that's led to a rapid restructuring of how I handle a particular aspect of my finances. I've been somewhat traditional for the most part by tying a lot of my financial transactions to traditional banks, which is safe enough. Then I felt progressive enough when I leaned into GCash as a digital wallet and moved a lot of my more conventional transactions there. Now MariBank is potentially going to take over most of those functions since I retain easy access to my money and related cashless payment options without money just sitting idly. Should GCash upgrade into a digital bank (instead of just relying on CIMB), then maybe I'll pivot back.
But I have to admit, I'm quickly growing to like MariBank, which is really forcing me to think about every aspect of my usual transactions. They offer 1% cashback for most payments, and the near-immediate activation of my virtual card following my linking to Google Wallet means it already does more than GCash ever did. Utilities aren't typically part of the cashback program, but they're currently offering a flat P5 cashback for any bill payments funneled through the app. This, along with daily interest crediting (I earned P0.14 for my first day), may not seem like a lot, but it can totally add up over time. So I'm largely shifting my revolving funds into MariBank to act as my new digital wallet, albeit one that earns a bit of interest every day.
I'll have more updates once I've fully transitioned processes previously managed through my BPI account and I get to push the limits of all their cashback promotions. And for those who want to join the experiment, my referral code is RS990271, which can earn us both a weird amount in the form of P588.
But yeah, figuring out how I'm transitioning away from my UnionBank credit card for specific purchases to MariBank's debit card system (which requires more immediate liquidity) has been a good mental exercise. This has included figuring out which transactions I want to keep in GCash, like O Bar tips and, of all things, reloading our tollway RFID account. And there's the somewhat painful decision to bring my BPI savings account down to the bare miminim in order to make use of my funds with more compeitive financial instructions and solutions. I've had this account for quite a while - it was one of the first things I did after leaving home. At the time, I was extra proud of being able to pay a lot of my bills without physically lining up any more. Technology has certainly come a long way since then. It's just a shame how traditional banks haven't managed to keep up with the times.
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