Savings Product of SAP-Bangladesh Microfinance Program
- General Savings: Small depositors usually value convenient, easy access, and relatively secure delivery savings services above all else. In some environments, to be useful to women, the delivery systems must respond to their restricted mobility and availability of time. Customers also value privacy, preferring systems that do not reveal to other customers how much they save and withdraw. The general savings account is like a current account, where customers can save or withdraw on demand.
- Contractual Savings: The poor often value regular and disciplined savings systems as a way of building up useful lump sums. These savings can be invested or used for social obligations such as marriages, funerals, or children’s education. These products respond to the poor’s demand for illiquid savings systems. The liquid savings system protects their money from frivolous spending and allows the slow but steady accumulation of a lump sum. SAP-Bangladesh pays a significantly higher rate of interest on these regular voluntary savings than on the general savings account. The contractual savings account allows savers to determine the amount and time of deposits and withdrawals. In the contractual savings account, clients agree to regularly deposit a set amount for a set period after which they can withdraw the entire amount plus the interest.
