In an effort to encourage people to invest in their Short Term Fund, BPI increased the minimum amount requirement to open a Special Deposit Account (SDA) to Php 500,000. Previously, one can open an account for only Php 50,000.
To give you a background, SDA is like a time deposit with a higher yield (lately, I got it at around 2.6-2.8% net of all fees). SDA is a short-term investment which matures around 30-35 days. However, unlike time deposit, you cannot pre-terminate it. This type of account is not guaranteed by the PDIC, but by BSP - which makes it a relatively safe investment. Perfect placement for some of my emergency funds.