Bonds are evidence of indebtedness issued by a corporation or government to an investor or purchaser. There are several types of bonds, one of which is a treasury bond. A treasury bond in the Philippines is issued by the Bureau of Treasury at a discount basis, at a premium, or at par payable on maturity or at coupon dates.

Treasury bonds are now available on the PDAX app in partnership with broker-dealer PDAX Securities (formerly bonds.ph Inc.) This empowers Filipino PDAX users to invest in treasury bonds conveniently.

Real-world assets are being turned into digital tokens for better security and ease of use. In the case of securities like treasury bonds, users can use the PDAX app to buy and keep track of their investments, but this is only possible if the securities are tokenized.

Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term (one year or less) debt securities issued by a government. The duration of a T-bill could either be 91, 182, or 364 days. T-bills are sold at a discount with the same face value. When the T-bill matures, the government pays you the full face value. Your profit will come from the difference between what you paid for the T-bill and the amount you receive upon maturity.

A Retail Treasury Bond (RTB) is a debt instrument issued by a government to raise funds from the public to finance its expenditure needs. RTBs are designed to be accessible to individual investors, including small savers, making them an attractive option for personal investment portfolios. They offer a fixed interest rate, and because they are backed by the government, they are considered to be low-risk investments.

RTBs have specific maturity periods, and the interest is typically paid semi-annually or quarterly until the bond matures, at which point the principal amount is returned to the investor.

This type of bond is part of the government’s program to promote saving and investing among its citizens while providing them with a safe investment option.

Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) and Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are both debt instruments issued by the government with the key difference being on the maturity period.

RTBs typically have longer maturity periods, ranging from a few years to even more than a decade, making them suitable for medium to long-term investments. Meanwhile, T-Bills are short-term securities with maturity periods usually less than a year (this can be 91, 182, or 364 days), catering to investors looking for short-term investment options.

Currently, PDAX offers both treasury bills and retail treasury bonds. You can view the details such as interest rates and term periods on bonds.pdax.ph/bond-details.

1. Update your PDAX Account to at least Tier Level 2 (Verified) 

2. Create a Bonds Account. The creation of the Bonds account would be done after the additional KYC has been completed by the user. An email notification will be sent once this has been set up. You may refer to the FAQs on “How do I set up a Bonds account?”.

3. Fund your account. Ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the bonds you wish to purchase. You may fund your account using any of our existing cash-in partners. Click here to guide you on how to fund your account.

4. Proceed to Trade. Click Trade then click the “Bonds” filter. Select which of the Bond Token Pairs align with your investment goals and preferences. Bonds would only be available on the app during the offer period and you may only purchase this within the said time frame. You can find the details of the current offer period here. Link to bond details page

5. Place your buy order. Specify the face value of the bonds you wish to purchase when placing the buy order within the offer period.

6. After placing the order, you will be notified both in-app and through email that the order has been placed.

7. Receive bond order results via email. On the bond’s auction date, the award email will be sent out. This contains the results of the bond order, which may be awarded in full, partial, or no award.

8. Receive Confirmation of Sale via email. If you are partially or fully awarded on the bond’s issue date, the Confirmation of Sale would be sent out via email within the next business day indicating that you have successfully purchased bonds on PDAX.

   If by any chance you notice any mismatch in the confirmation of sale, contact us immediately.

9. Matured Bonds. On the maturity date, your credit upon maturity will be credited to your PDAX account. The bond tokens that have matured will be removed from their assets on the portfolio.

Prior to transacting, you will need to set up a Bonds account. The process is as follows:

1. Click the Bonds icon on your PDAX home screen or click the “Create Bonds Account” link on the Portfolio.
2. Make sure to read, understand, and accept the Legal Agreements before proceeding to set up your account.
3. Submit the additional KYC Information such as your SSS/GSIS number, TIN number, and mobile number.
4. Review and submit your application once you are confident that all the information you have provided is correct.

Note: The Basic Information of the user can only be edited through your PDAX account settings and cannot be edited during the Bonds on PDAX sign-up process. Only the additional fields presented can be added.

The user will receive an email once the account setup has been completed within 1-2 business days.

Offer period: This refers to the period when the bond tokens are made available on the app for clients to participate in buying the bonds.

Award date: This is when you will be informed via email whether you are fully, partially, or not awarded along with its corresponding amount. This depends on what the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) will issue to bonds.ph Inc. as the Broker/Dealer of the treasury bonds. This is sent out 1 business day after the offer period

Issue date: This refers to the date when the bond orders are issued to the users and happens 2 business days after the awarded date (unless there are changes with BTr’ schedule). You will be informed through the Confirmation of Sale email within 1-2 business days of the issue date.

Maturity date: This refers to the date when the bond reaches its maturity. You will receive your credit upon maturity which includes your bond face value along with the interest earned.

• Indicates the last auction’s discount rate prior to the specific bond’s issuance. Kindly note that this is informative only and subject to change.
• The final discount rate will be provided upon the bond’s issuance. You can find the issue date on the bond’s detail page which you can view when you click on the bond token from the Trade tab or check our list here: https://bonds.pdax.ph/bond-details/.

• Refers to the date when the bond reaches its maturity. This is when you will receive the face value of the bond you have purchased.

Yes, you can place orders more than once as long as it’s within the offer period and your cash balance is sufficient.

While you can place orders multiple times, there are daily, monthly, and year cash in or deposit limits to watch out for when funding your account. You can refer here for more information on cashing in.

Yes, interests earned from bonds are generally subject to tax. Under Philippine taxation, interests on monetary instruments are subject to 20% final withholding tax.

Yes, you can buy a retail treasury bond (RTB) from the secondary market on PDAX.

This means you are purchasing a retail treasury bond on the secondary market through your registered Broker-Dealer. Here, investors can trade RTBs after the initial offering and issuance by the BTR, providing liquidity and potential profit opportunities.

To buy or sell an RTB on the secondary market, tap on the Bonds icon on the PDAX home screen and select the RTB you want to buy or sell.