SAFEST way to transfer money from US to PI account?

For me, I use Wells Fargo, I transfer in the evening and pick it up the next am at BPI, I get a very high exchange rate as well a low cost. It is between $4.50 and $5.00 per transfer. They call this service Express Send

I'll first state what I imagine is the obvious. We met with a manager at the banks home office and detailed what we wanted to do with our stateside account and our foreign account with regard to transfers. Specifically asking if we could make changes to our account without having to make a trip to the states including password changes, etc.
We transferred a small amount to a family members bank account to familiarize ourselves with the procedure and insure the success of the transfer, the time frame to credit the Phil account and the cost of the transfer from both ends. What we were told is what happened.
The cost of transfers runs about $5 US. With the time difference the funds are available the following day.

IT is easy.  we keep our money in the USA  then use REMITLY  or XOOM  and can transfer our money we want in 10 minutes for 4.95 or under.  We  tried Remitly out and was impressed, fast to  register and no bs when sending or money held up, it  was to the Philippines in our hands in 15 mins.

All this other stuff  about scaring people to be extra safe and all that is total bs in todays world, and they seem to just want to scare people to spending more money.   we been doing this for years and years and  never even heard of someone having a problem. So go with the cheapest way u can and  it is simple.

Remitly told me they only transfer in the US. Xoom wants a cosigner.

A list of remittance companies.
http://www.remitrate.com/money-transfer-companies

Thank you all! very helpful info indeed - is there limit of how much you can transfer per transaction? or per day? Glad to hear money will be available within 24hr. We're a bit nervous with online transaction but I guess we have no choice.

Thanks again.

No limit except for the Government ones. But as far as Wells Fargo no problem I have been transferring monthly living expenses on a monthly basis for close to 6 years never a problem

dimplesz14 wrote:

Thank you all! very helpful info indeed - is there limit of how much you can transfer per transaction? or per day? Glad to hear money will be available within 24hr. We're a bit nervous with online transaction but I guess we have no choice.

Thanks again.

____________________________________________________________________________________
The link below is for a long list of remittance companies also provides costs for transfers and daily, monthly, etc. limits.
http://www.remitrate.com/money-transfer-companies
Example: Xooms site lists a 24 limit of $9,999.00

Jim

Can you have a Philippine address and no US address and us Remtly ?
Brad

Thanks for the good info.

I have just recently decided to make a change. The problem I had with one company is my address is in the Philippines and I have no USA address. Will that be a problem with others?
Brad

I have found TransferWise to be great, cheap and efficient. There is no currency spread on FX and set fees are very low.

As with any new Bank Account. Set it up with the minimum and never transfer significant sums until you have changed the generic passwords/PINs and safely received any associated cards.

It is NEVER wise to hold too much in local banks here. It is prudent to ONLY wire significant amounts to local banks as and when they might be required (special purchases/property etc) - keeping the remainder offshore. The less bank staff know about you, the better.

Use local banks for 'petty cash' and any 'one-off' special purchases which require inward transmission of larger amounts.

I am not sure how possible it will be for you to open a local account before you (quote) "move here". Other's might be able to guide you on that - but I don't think it is easy (for foreigners) until they have established a 'presence'......Maybe better to leave it until you arrive and then choose?

I presume you have a Philippine bank account already. Just get  the swift code routing code.

I have been transferring money to the Philippines for years. Metrobank and BDO is good banks. The only one I have been transferring to. If you want to send $ I recommend a dollar account. You might get a better deal for the exchange rate. You can use money changer. I have a good relation with my bank they give me .29 above official rate. That is done in the branch.
safety wise you will be ok up to P500000 or equivalent since it is covered by deposit protection scheme.
bank to bank transfer is recommended. Not all people we can trust to pick up the money

As a foreigner you cannot open an account in Philippines unless you have a visa. Banks in the Philippine are just as worried about money laundering as elsewhere. If you are a Philippine citizen you should be able to open an account.

Hi guys!  Thanks for all for your comments and advice. Yes, we have a Philippine bank account (BDO). hubby and I are worrried to transfer money online but sound like it's safe and fast so we will give it a shot!

Thanks again!

I ship out from UK. There is no way I would use bank to bank transfer way too expensive and my local bank is PNB, swift code is only to Manila it is distributed from there.  way too many transactions. I transfere money to PNB Europe in London, my money arrives my UK bank around 6am. I transfere to PNB Europe who transmit on, usually in my bank by  10 or 11am the same day. For smaller amounts I use worldremit that takes about 15 mins sent to banks pawnshops etc, Been doing it for many years now with only the occasional hiccup.

Sorry to hear the trouble experienced
I have been receiving my wages to Metrobank for years. They are initiated from UK. It has worked painless for the 13 years I have lived in the Philippines. Money arrives directly to my account.
My friend have sent money from his bank in Denmark (Nordea) and the money has arrived safely into my account several times without fail. Just checked my account and the funds were there. Do not see the need to find a branch foreign branch of a Filipino Bank in order to send money
None of Lugio Tans banks  Allied bank or PNB I would recommend.A bit old fashioned. ExAllied Bank Customers does not have option of internet banking. Metrobank, BDO and BPI I can recommend from own experience.

davtjo wrote:

I ship out from UK. There is no way I would use bank to bank transfer way too expensive and my local bank is PNB, swift code is only to Manila it is distributed from there.  way too many transactions. I transfere money to PNB Europe in London, my money arrives my UK bank around 6am. I transfere to PNB Europe who transmit on, usually in my bank by  10 or 11am the same day. For smaller amounts I use worldremit that takes about 15 mins sent to banks pawnshops etc, Been doing it for many years now with only the occasional hiccup.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We have but one simple online request through our U.S. bank to our Bank in the Phil and it's done without delay or complication. The transfer is less than $5 dollars and while building our home, that included some large transfers. 
With a 12 hour time difference that put the money in our account the following morning. We haven't had any problems sending or receiving the funds for a few years now.

I have been using Remitly or Xoom depending on who has the cheaper cost.  Then I ship dollars from USA bank to a BPi dollar account where they give a superior exchange rate whenever I pull out money at the ATM - in pesos.

You can't use dollar account online to pay bills like Globe so if you need that you can also open a peso account.

Wow, you all are very informative! can't thank you all enough for the info!

Cheapest way is to deposit a check from your US bank (if you are from US) into your Philippines dollar acct.

It will take weeks to clear.

And it is as safe as any other method safe.

There are much faster ways, but no cheaper or safer ways.

Many banks require that an OTP (one time password code) when you make changes or do transfers.  Sometimes they can send them by email but often they only send them by SMS which you will not be able to get in the Philippines.
I get around this by signing up for a Google Voice account.  You get a US phone number which can handle almost all OTPs.  It is free.

I have a US bank that send the OTP to my Philippine phone #.

Not all will do this. The ones that support an international address do.

Those that do not support an international address will also close your account due to the Patriot Act.

You must have a US phone to get a google voice number. You also must sign up through a proxy that has a US IP address.

Google sends a text to the US based # or makes a voice call to it. They can make the voice call to a magic jack # but an sms cannot be sent to magic jack - only the android magic APP can receive the sms,

Philippine Destiny wrote:

I have a US bank that send the OTP to my Philippine phone #.

Not all will do this. The ones that support an international address do.

Those that do not support an international address will also close your account due to the Patriot Act.

You must have a US phone to get a google voice number. You also must sign up through a proxy that has a US IP address.

Google sends a text to the US based # or makes a voice call to it. They can make the voice call to a magic jack # but an sms cannot be sent to magic jack - only the android magic APP can receive the sms,

I  understand the need for a US phone number to get a GV account but I believe the OP is currently in the US.
I have 3 banks in the US.  One has a foreign address and the other two do not.  I have been overseas for quite a while and the two that have US address are fully aware that I live out of the country and have never tried to cancel the accounts.

AaronAardvark wrote:

Philippine Destiny wrote:

I have a US bank that send the OTP to my Philippine phone #.

Not all will do this. The ones that support an international address do.

Those that do not support an international address will also close your account due to the Patriot Act.

You must have a US phone to get a google voice number. You also must sign up through a proxy that has a US IP address.

Google sends a text to the US based # or makes a voice call to it. They can make the voice call to a magic jack # but an sms cannot be sent to magic jack - only the android magic APP can receive the sms,

I  understand the need for a US phone number to get a GV account but I believe the OP is currently in the US.
I have 3 banks in the US.  One has a foreign address and the other two do not.  I have been overseas for quite a while and the two that have US address are fully aware that I live out of the country and have never tried to cancel the accounts.

hence the quote "Those that do not support an international address will also close your account due to the Patriot Act."

and the thread is not really about the op anymore but more just general information as the op has been absent for three years 

You lost me.  One international address works ok.  Two with US address while I have been living in Thailand and no problems.  So for me, I have two accounts that do no support foreign addresses and no attempt to close.  Maybe I am missing something but under what circumstances will they close an account?
Also, if one does happen to try to close an account, the Department of State will issue a letter telling them not to cancel.  I believe that closing account was either a misunderstanding or has cease to happen.

AaronAardvark wrote:

You lost me.  One international address works ok.  Two with US address while I have been living in Thailand and no problems.  So for me, I have two accounts that do no support foreign addresses and no attempt to close.  Maybe I am missing something but under what circumstances will they close an account?
Also, if one does happen to try to close an account, the Department of State will issue a letter telling them not to cancel.  I believe that closing account was either a misunderstanding or has cease to happen.

I did make too much of a blanket statement. Sorry for that.

The banks are required to positively identify all customers and the guidance that they received from the Treasury Dept on how to fulfill this was vague and many just closed accounts or threatened to do so. One of my banks made the threat and I was already in the process of getting a US address so I just went with that. I have an acquaintance who made a complaint to the Treasury Dept about a bank that had closed his account and was able to get it back, but it did cause disruption. I know that some banks still make this an issue, but it tends to concern those who are trying to open a new account without a US address rather than for those who have existing accounts.

I need to  re-research this issue, but the account closure threats are still happening and getting help from Treasury Dept or State Dept will not eliminate the hassle.

AaronAardvark wrote:

You lost me.  One international address works ok.  Two with US address while I have been living in Thailand and no problems.  So for me, I have two accounts that do no support foreign addresses and no attempt to close.  Maybe I am missing something but under what circumstances will they close an account?
Also, if one does happen to try to close an account, the Department of State will issue a letter telling them not to cancel.  I believe that closing account was either a misunderstanding or has cease to happen.

i just spent a little time looking in to this matter some more and found this from the Treasury Dept:

https://www.helpwithmybank.gov/get-answ … ts-01.html

The bank closed my checking account and did not notify me. Is this legal?

Yes. Generally, banks may close deposit accounts for any reason (e.g., inactivity or low usage) and without notice. Federal banking laws and regulation do not address the closing of deposit accounts.

This issue is governed by the Deposit Account Agreement you received when you opened your account. Review that Agreement, and contact your bank directly for more information.

According to this government website, State Dept nor any other federal agency has any authority to tell a bank to reopen a closed account.

You can file a complaint as I stated above, but there is no enforcement. The bank might change their mind during the process though.

This is basically why I did not argue with my bank and just got the US address. I did not want any hassle.

Yes they can kind of do whatever they want.

check out this:

http://www.expatriation-help.com/us-banking.html

I use a company called "World Remit" to transfer money from Europe. They are cheaper than Banks, and very fast. Money is there usually in less than 30 mins. Either direct Bank transfer, or pick up at Banks or Pawnshops.

Never heard of that about xoom,I have used them for over 10 years, I don't know why but they don't charge me to send from my bank of America to BDO to my wife they stopped about 3 years ago, I still have to pay the $4.99 if I send to someone else,the transfer is instant

We use Western Union, for $3.99 per transaction, up to $3,000.  Do it on the tablet at home, get to the Western Union office 45 minutes later and pick up the cash.  Sometimes WU does not have the cash, will give you pesos at a bad exchange rate, were offering 49 pesos to the dollar.  At 2 Brothers store they had US dollars and pesos at 50.35 pesos per dollar two days ago.  Our bank charges $5 per deposit, takes a month to clear.

Okieboy wrote:

Never heard of that about xoom,I have used them for over 10 years, I don't know why but they don't charge me to send from my bank of America to BDO to my wife they stopped about 3 years ago, I still have to pay the $4.99 if I send to someone else,the transfer is instant

Xoom vs Transferwise

Xoom
            $1000.00  =  P48592
            Published fee for USD to USD is $7.99

Transferwies

           $1000.00  =  P49653
            Can send USD to USD by Swift

With Transferwise, I have what is called a boarderless account(s).  For me that means I have 3 accounts.  One is a USD account, a Thai Baht account and a Philippine Peso account.    I transfer money into my USD account from my US Bank.  That transfer is to a US bank account held by Transferwise.  From my boarderless account I can then convert any amount from USD to either my Thai Baht or Philippines Peso account.
A boarderless account is not required. It is just more convenient for me.

I too have a borderless account with Transferwise, together with a charge card. In my case GBP, HKD and PHP. I virtually lived off the charge card for my first few months in the Philippines, until I could open a bank account here.

The charge card can be used with many currencies. BY default it uses the currency of payment. If there is not enough in the account in that currency, payment is taken automatically from the currency with the best exchange rate.

Downside is that ATM withdrawals have low limits and are expensive.

Regards

Steve

Used my US VISA for purchases at the supermarket and fast food restaurant and got an exchange rate of 50.50 pesos/$, better than 2 Brothers and much better than the bank, plus I get 1.5 % cash back.  Wish I could pay my electric bill with a cc.

I received an email from Bank of America money transfers to the philippines are no longer charged a fee if in peso, I never used them but may check it out I know transfer threw xoom to BDO are instant they are partner banks

I can withdraw more from the ATM in the Philippines than in the USA 50,000 peso every 24 hours

When I'm using a stateside banks charge card at S&R, the processing company used by S&R tacks on a fee.

So you may think sometimes there is no fee, check your receipt from S&R. Probably the same for charge purchases elsewhere.

I have a Citibank Card which rebates 1% when you charge and 1% rebate when it's paid. So if you pay in full each month, no interest and a 2% rebate.