As digital banks and mobile payments become more accessible and redefine the financial norm, consumers are bombarded with new campaigns, product offerings, and number-scattered messages everywhere they look on social media. While some may get lost in the noise, one voice in particular stands out for its incredible wit and relatable humor: a path that banks and other financial institutions rarely take, if at all.
“At Maya, we’re not afraid to zag when everyone zigs,” Maya Chief Marketing Officer Pepe Torres said in an exclusive interview with adobo Magazine.
Most banks — digital and traditional — adopt a formal tone throughout their marketing materials. Sprinkle that with financial jargon, and you might build a wall between you and the people you’re trying to reach. Maya, it seems, has cracked the code to relatability: meet your audience where they are, and stand out.
Pepe clarified, however, that it’s not about being different just for the sake of being different. “We always start with a deep consumer insight addressed by a truly compelling benefit which we then translate into a big creative idea,” he said.
“We’re also humble enough to recognize that we are competing for attention and that brands are at the bottom of who most customers would want to hear from. So really, we have no choice but to be entertaining!”
Seeing is believing
Savings, to many, may feel stagnant. Only when you deposit more money into your account does it ever increase.
Pepe explained that human beings are fundamentally motivated by visible, tangible progress — whether it’s something personal, like fitness, or more practical, like finance.
“Because of their experience with traditional banks, many customers feel that nothing happens to their money when it’s in a savings account – so why save? That’s why our response is to show customers that you can feel yourself getting richer every day when you save with Maya. Because not only can you earn up to 15% p.a., which is among the highest in the industry, you also get that interest every day. And we know from our loyal customers that our daily interest is something delightful they always look forward to,” Pepe said.
“With Maya Savings, interest is credited daily to their accounts, which means users can see their money grow regularly. When people feel that their efforts are paying off, saving becomes more engaging and easier to sustain.”
Two new campaigns, three new faces
To effectively deliver the message of growing money by saving, Maya has released two initiatives: the “Sampalan” campaign and the Maya Savings Calendar.
Pepe is particularly proud of the “Sampalan” campaign. “The ‘Sampalan’ video became Maya’s most-watched video ever, generating over 100 million views and reaching nearly 40 million users,” he revealed. “Our Savings Calendar continues to generate earned coverage and interest for Maya savings. But most importantly, we saw significant growth in new savers and total deposits following the launch.”
Both initiatives star Maya’s three new brand ambassadors: Julia Barretto, Maris Racal, and Jericho Rosales.
Pepe said that Maya was very intentional in bringing in this powerhouse trio because they represent different perspectives on money, ambition, and personal goals that resonate with Filipinos today.
He went on further: “What makes them compelling isn’t just their popularity. It’s that they’ve each built careers and lives that people follow and aspire to for different reasons. Julia represents intentionality and planning for what matters, whether it’s travel or family. Maris embodies ambition, creativity, and is constantly building toward what’s next. Jericho brings a perspective shaped by experience, balance, and investing in the things that matter most.”
“Together, they reflect the reality that people don’t think about money in the same way. Some prioritize security, some prioritize growth, while others focus on creating experiences and opportunities. But regardless of what motivates them, everyone wants to feel that they’re making progress.”
A Filipino idiom comes true
Maya’s “Sampalan” video campaign made rounds on social media for its comedic portrayal of a well-known Filipino idiom, “masampal ng pera” (to be slapped with money).
On choosing this specific phrase as the backbone of the campaign, Pepe revealed that it’s largely because the phrase is already part of Filipino culture.
“Almost everyone has joked about wanting to experience being slapped in the face with money. But beneath the humor is a very human truth: people want to feel financial progress,” he began to elucidate. “When we looked at Maya Savings’ daily interest feature, we realized there was a natural connection. If your money is growing every day, that’s something you should be able to feel, not just see on a statement weeks later. The phrase gave us a culturally relevant way to translate our daily interest feature into an idea that’s emotional, memorable, and immediately understandable.”
But jokes aside, the video still manages to squeeze in a very important detail: that Maya is a BSP-licensed, PDIC-insured financial institution. As funny as Maya’s campaigns can be, that’s also how serious they are when they mean business.
“Trust is non-negotiable in financial services. No matter how entertaining or culturally relevant a campaign is, people ultimately need confidence that their money is safe,” Pepe laid out. “For us, there was never a trade-off between creativity and credibility. The goal wasn’t to make a funny video and then add trust signals afterward. The goal was to use creativity to make the product benefit more relatable, while ensuring the fundamentals of trust remained clear (and still entertaining!) throughout the story.”
This is why it was important to Maya to communicate its credibility. It’s for the audience to know that while the brand may communicate in a fresh and unconventional way, it’s still a regulated financial institution held to the same standards that consumers expect from a trusted banking partner.
“In many ways, that’s what makes Maya different. We don’t believe financial products need to sound intimidating to be credible. You can make finance entertaining, culturally relevant, and easy to understand while still being transparent, secure, and trustworthy,” he added.
The world’s first savings calendar
Branching out from the same insight as the “Sampalan” campaign, Maya’s Savings Calendar is based on the truth that people are more motivated when they can actually see and feel progress.
Pepe reminisced about a common memory that most, if not all, Filipinos have: the big calendar hung in the family living room. This singular material is ingrained in our culture. Traditionally, these calendars are associated with liquor brands, entertainment, celebrity culture, and even the lunar phases. But Maya saw it as an opportunity to reimagine a familiar format that people already loved into something that can encourage financial progress. A champion of ingenuity, Pepe also shared that to their knowledge, Maya has produced the world’s first Savings Calendar.
“Traditional calendars are usually built around personalities. The Maya Savings Calendar was built around behavior and progress. Of course, we’re not afraid to be a bit cheeky and reference what makes celebrity-led calendars exciting for Filipinos,” shared Pepe.
Returning to the idea of making savings growth feel visible, the Maya Savings Calendar creatively brings to life the experience of earning interest every day. “A calendar felt like the perfect medium because it’s built around the passage of time; every day and every month become a reminder that progress is happening,” he added.
Pepe stated that people don’t save just for the sake of it; they save for experiences and goals. And to Maya, the Savings Calendar brings those aspirations to life while making the journey toward them feel more tangible, visible, and rewarding.
Let your money work for you
While other banks continue to zig their way in the dry language of finance lingo and fine print, Maya zags to its own beat of humor, entertainment, and most importantly, tangibility. Maya isn’t changing what saving means — it’s changing what saving feels like.
By turning the act of saving into a highly visible and rewarding system, they’ve shown that financial security doesn’t have to be stiff. When progress becomes visible, saving stops feeling like a chore and starts becoming a habit that people actually want to stick with.
