The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has introduced deposit products for temples, religious places and related individuals to support the effective management of religious assets.
Paisan Hongtong, senior executive vice-president of the bank, said the BAAC launched three deposit products for temples, places of worship for all religions, worshippers and related individuals.
The products are designed to promote more effective management of religious assets while encouraging savings among Buddhist clergy and other religious personnel.
The Bun Samphan (Merit Link) deposit account is designed for non-profit institutions, including temples and places of worship.
Applicants must register for QR Tham D (e-donation) service, which enables donations to be transferred directly to the temple for greater convenience, with a minimum opening deposit of only 50 baht.
Unlimited deposits and withdrawals are allowed, with no restrictions on the amount or number of transactions, to help temples efficiently manage their day-to-day cash flow.
The bank pays an interest rate of 0.50% per year, compounded twice a year by crediting the interest to the principal balance in March and September.
The second product is the Bun Samphan deposit account for temples and places of worship that hold a Merit Link deposit account and have enrolled in the QR Tham D service. The product is designed to provide attractive long-term returns on temple savings.
This account requires a minimum initial deposit of 10,000 baht and offers a tiered special interest rate based on the end-of-day account balance, with a maximum rate of 1.00% per year.
Deposits of less than 100,000 baht earn 0.25% per year, with those from 100,000 baht to 1 million baht earning 0.50% per year and balances exceeding 1 million baht earning 1.00% per year. The promotional period is three years.
Interest earned on the Bun Samphan deposit account is exempt from income tax, and interest is paid monthly by crediting it to the temple's Merit Link deposit account at the end of each month.
The final product is Bun Samphan Plus (nine-month deposit), a short-term deposit product that provides immediate returns. This type of account is available to individuals, specifically abbots, waiyawakorn (a layperson appointed by the abbot to manage the temple's assets and carry out administrative duties on behalf of the monks, particularly financial responsibilities such as receiving donations and authorising budget disbursements), as well as temple committee members (with certification from the abbot) of temples that already maintain a Bun Samphan deposit account with BAAC.
The account requires a minimum opening deposit of 10,000 baht. Depositors receive interest immediately on the date the deposit is made, at a rate of up to 1.00% per year.
The bank pays the interest in advance by transferring it directly to the depositor's designated linked account. The deposit term is nine months, calculated on an exact day-to-day basis.
All three deposit products are available for subscription from July 9-31, or until BAAC announces the closure of the deposit campaign.
