Send Money to Philippines
If you’re living in the Philippines, you probably need to send money to yourself from your original country. Whether you have a nice “nest egg” or a pension that provides your source of funding while you are living in the Philippines, you will need to find the best way to send money to yourself.
The best way for you can differ according to your personal needs. For me, I need quick and cheap.
People often complain these days about the dollar to Philippine peso rate of exchange and with darn good reason. The dollar is
doing horrible right now. That has been caused mostly by the Federal Reserve Bank’s policy of creating cash. That’s really a topic for another article but it is something we will just have to live with for now. Using the wrong method to send you’re cash will further weaken your effective dollar to Philippine peso rate of exchange.
Recently I used an ATM card to send a small amount of money. After the transaction fees, my effective rate of exchange was about P38 to 1USD when the rate of exchange was P43 to 1USD. My bank charged me $5, the local Philippine bank tacked on another fee and Visa added a 5% transaction fee. That is absurd! The 5% international fee is what kills the effective exchange rate. I hear people say “My bank charges me no fees.” I really wonder if that is true. The international transaction fee is a bank card fee imposed by MasterCard and Visa, not the bank.
HSBC does say they don’t charge a fee on ATM fees, since I don’t have $70,000 to deposit in their bank, I can’t confirm that. It isn’t their fee, they don’t charge it and they don’t collect it. On my last transaction, my bank didn’t actually separate the charge, if I hadn’t calculated the rate of exchange myself, I would have never known it was that low. I just sent an email to HSBC to find out if their cards are subject to the 5% international fee that most banks are charged. HSBC does have a Manila branch so opening an account there probably removes that intentional fee as long as you use it internally. Perhaps even if you do use it internationally. I will try to find out more on that.
So far, for me the best way to send money to Philippines is to use Xoom my second favorite way is to use Remit Home. Xoom is the fastest and cheapest and I use them as my primary means for sending money to the Philippines. I still like Remit Home for their excellent customer service. With Remit Home you can send a maximum of $1000 per transaction so to send yourself $1500 it will cost you between $20 and $16 while the fee with Xoom will only be $5.99. You can send up to $2999 in one transaction with Xoom.
Free eBook: Send Money to Philippines
I have written a completely free eBook about how to send money to Philippines. You will need to subscribe to my mailing list in order to get it. I’m am likely to start charging a fee for this eBook in the near future so if you want it, now is the time. You can get it by clicking the
Using PayPal to Send Money To Philippines
Recently, I’ve had a lot of questions about using PayPal to send money to Philippines. Three years ago, I just couldn’t find an easy way to do that. Before that, my girlfriend tried to setup an account. She could, but she couldn’t get the money out of her account. If someone sent money to that account, she could only use it to buy things online.
With all the recent questions, I decided to take another look at this method as a way to send money to Philippines. I just setup a PayPal peso account using my Philippines address and bank account. I had no problems in doing so. There is potential huge gotcha moment associated with my Philippine based PayPal account.
I created the account but it will be some time before I can get any money using it. You’ll need not only a Philippines based bank account but you will also need a Philippines based credit card in order to use you’re Philippines based PayPal to send money to Philippines. PayPal gave me a withdrawal limit of zero until I confirm that I own the credit card associated with my account. I don’t have online access to my account so I will have to wait until I have my credit card statement to get the code the transaction will show. I will write an update once I know.
The last time I tried to use my PayPal ATM card in the Philippines, it was rejected. I recently developed a website for someone and they paid me by PayPal, so I will try once more. The funds are not yet available. I have to wait 3 weeks to get my money as I did this freelance work through Fivrr. That is a website where you can hire people to do work for you for 5 bucks! I didn’t do the whole website for $5 though; they paid me for 20 jobs.
I’ll have to wait a bit more before I can report fully on how we’ll PayPal can be used. I think it won’t be a problem as soon as I get my credit card statement from my local bank. I’ve never used that credit card before. It may turn out that it is the cheapest way to send money to Philippines.
Still though, in my locality, I can withdraw only P10, 000 in one transaction ad P20, 000 per day. I know I can’t rely on that as my primary means to send money to Philippines.
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Hello Rusty,
This must be another awesome topic. I am a freelancer too. Working online for more than a year now through odesk. I am using paypal since this is one of withdrawal method available for withdrawing your earnings from the said site. I don’t have credit card though. I am using my eon visa card of Union Bank and linked it on my paypal account. Paypal don’t get a charge when my money reached P7,000.00 and up. I asked my Team leader since shes using paypal too, using her Credit card she said Paypal charge her P200.00 per withdrawal. So I can say you don’t need a CC if you have eon visa card from Union Bank and they don’t charge you if your withdrawal reached P7,000.00 and up and P50,00 if you withdraw less than P7,000.00.
Nice write ups!
Fervel
Hi Ferval, thanks for the info.
EON visa is a credit card.
If it has VISA on it, it is a credit card. I’m not sure I follow you. Do you mean you can only use it at an ATM or can you use it at an ATM.
Does the EON card you have from Union Bank put the funds right into your bank account or does it load the card? In Cebu, you can only get P10,000 per transaction and P20,000 in a day. In most cases that’s enough but should you need more, you can’t get it with an ATM card till the next day.
I’ll never use PayPal for large sums though, I’ve had too many bad experiences with PayPal. They might lock your funds for six months. They usually have a reason too but I’ve seen stories out there where it appeared it was only because of a large transaction. I don’t know. But based on my past with PayPal and the stories of others, I don’t trust them.
I often transfer more than P50,000 and I wont use PayPal for that.
For smaller amounts though, if there is no fee, then this may be a great way to go, even for me. Sometimes, I don’t send enough when my pension hits my US bank account and I need to get a little more. PayPal might come in handy then.
It was five years ago when I first tried to use PayPal here and then three years ago. I haven’t used them recently and have not looked into. It sounds like things have changed and it is not so difficult any more.
I can use my card at an ATM and purchasing something without having a cash on hand but I can’t used it by purchasing something or buying products or any services through credit.It is a debit card I mean, It takes me 2 banking days before my money hit my bank account. So far the largest amount I withdrew from my Paypal is just P20,000.00. I never encountered a problem using my Paypal account so far. I am making a transaction every week or 2 for my compensation.
You are right maybe Paypal didn’t work well with large amount.
Greetings all,
a bit of humor first and then a question.
Last year my Paypal account was hacked by some nice people in Vietnam. First they converted everything to the Vietnamase language and bought maybe $150.00 of video games,changed everything back to english and THEN sent me an email detailing what they bought and the amounts.
If you gotta be hacked, I highly recommend these people !! (Sent everything to PayPal and was asked not one question…..PP just replaced the money.)
—————————————–
Rusty,
your money is originally direct deposited into a US bank….right ?? Then using XOOM or Remit Home you cause to be sent money ……to a checking account/savings account in a bank in the Philippines ??
I’m guessing that unlike say the terribly expensive Western Union, a bank account is needed on the Philippine end ??
Wow Tom, they emailed you to tell you. Interesting!
Did you have any problem getting Paypal to reverse those charges?
I usually use Xoom to get my money. I have used Remit Home in the past. Xoom was incredibly slow for me a few times, I found some tricks to speed that up.
I sent money via WU while still living in the USA. People outside the country do it all the time. You can send it to a pawn shop.
Over the last year, WU stepped up its advertising in the Philippines, they may have made it easier. Banks and other places just don’t like it much when someone with a IP address from the Philippines and many other foreign countries tries to withdraw from a US bank account.
WU is cheap within the country. I have zero reason to try them again.
hi rusty u have ym add me sweetyoung97
How young are you, if 97 is the year you are born, i’m 100% not interested in adding you.
Hmmm Rizza, I just met a Filipina in with that name not to long ago. Did u just have a birthday? Are you in FL?
Bruce, this is just a mischief maker. It was almost certainly from a man. I’m pretty sure I know exactly who it is. There are a couple of people it could be though. One is a nutcase, the other a creep.
I don’t know if this helps, but when I travel in the Philippines, I use my Capital One credit card for as much as possible. Capital One does not charge an international transaction fee. Then I go online usually a couple times a week, and pay my Capital One credit card from my checking account. Plus by using my credit card, I get a better exchange rate. That helps with about half of expenses there.
Yeah, you do get a better exchange rate with CC’s.
Lots of people just use an ATM to get their money but I found it to have severe problems at times. The best way is different for different people. I didn’t know Capital One didn’t charge a fee. Thanks for the info.
Probably not as much of a problem in major city but I live in the boondocks.
And if you need a thousand dollars, you’re going to have to spread that over a few days in Cebu province. Not sure about other places.
Hey Rusty:
Read about this on another wesite could be an option maybe you’ll want to take a look. See the article:
M.Lhuillier Ties Up With U.S Money Transfer Giant Wells Fargo Bank
by Admin
LEADING local financial services com-pany M.Lhuillier ties up with American financial giant Wells Fargo, adding its over 1,300 branches in the Wells Fargo inven-tory of payout locations. The collaboration is yet another M.Lhuillier milestone as the company reinforces its position in the remittance industry big league, the result of its first-rate quality of service to Filipinos in the country and abroad. M.Lhuillier is known as the preferred partner of Filipinos in the country and around the world. It’s the financial institu-tion that understands a common Pinoy’s dreams and aspirations, going the extra mile to help map out a better life and a better future. It has over 1,300 loca-tions strategically positioned all over the Philippines, and provides beneficiaries with extended hours to collect their funds during the week and weekends with over 150 operating 24/7. M.Lhuillier offers a number of remote locations that present beneficiaries an important opportunity to receive their remittances in areas that are previously not as easily accessible.
With the M.Lhuillier-Wells Fargo team up, Wells Fargo ExpressSend custom-ers can send up to $1,000 a day to their beneficiary, paying only one low transac-tion fee. Recipients can easily access the money via pick-up from any of the 1,300 M.Lhuillier branch near them. Customers may also qualify for a discounted fee based on their account relationship with Wells Fargo. Remittances to the Philippines are denominated in Philippine Pesos. According to Daniel Ayala, Executive Vice President and head of Wells Fargo’s Remittance Services, “We understand how important remittances are to the Philip-pines. We also know M.Lhuillier is a key player in the Philippines’ remittance busi-ness, and their extensive and far-reaching network of branches is a major contribution to the fulfillment of our goal of helping Filipinllos gain acess to more locations throughout the country.” “The new working relationship be-tween Wells Fargo Bank and M.Lhuillier Financial Services is a collaboration of two remittance industry leaders, and together we are offering a service that will provide a secure, convenient and competitively priced remittance services”, says Michael Lhuillier, Vice President of M.Lhuillier Financial Services Inc. “This working relationship will help milliions of Filipinos living and working in the USA to better facilitate their money transfers to their beneficiaries in the Philippines.”
Thanks Nick, I don’t like sending my money to the pawn shops which is what M. Lhuillier is. Many of the remittance companies use them. I’m pretty sure Wells Fargo has options to send to bank accounts too.
The reason I don’t like sending to Lhuillier is that they use to yelled out how much money I was getting. Everyone in the place could hear it. I don’t know why they did that. I was the only person that they did that too. Many Filipino where in there sending and receiving money and I never once heard how much someone else was getting.
I do plan to look into Wells Fargo in the near future. I did once before but their fees were too high. I am expecting that to change in the near future. So they may turn out to be my best choice. Well Fargo has been expanding this part of their business for the last year or so.
Hey Rusty, in Australia we no longer have Xoom. I used to use it but for some reason they stopped operating in Australia which left us with Western Union. They are too expensive and the exchange rate is not good but there is alternatives not so well known such as OrbitRemit but they are not fast as you have to transfer money to their bank account before they send it on but they give the REAL exchange rate and charge as little as 1% for the transaction. Another instant transfer method is Paypal but it requires a bank account number in the country of reciept and the recipient to be a Paypal member. There are other ways that I am aware of but cannot recall at the moment. Love reading your blog and get quite incensed at the stupidity and bile of some of the guys and girls who write putting down people in countries they really know nothing about. So they had a bad experience, build a bridge and get over it.
I’ve written quite a bit about using Paypal, it is the worst way. For one, it is the most expensive that I’ve used, they just hide their fees.
“Build a Bridge and get over it” love it. Sounds like a common saying, but its new to me.
FYI, The only one I could find, and I really searched. Capital One not only doesn’t impose its own fee, but it also eats the 1% fee that Visa or MasterCard impose.
Hmmm, I get charged a 5% international fee. My bank has merged with another so eventually, I may be a better deal.
Generally, using credit cards and banks for transfering money abroad can can be very costly. in fact, the more money you send over, the more expensive it will be as a whole.
It will be much better if you used an independent broker, thats both registered by the FSA and HMRC, for 2 reasons. Firstly, they’re experts which means they’re on hand to guide you through the transfer process which includes fiding you the best rates possible. And secondly, provided they’re legit, they have a back office in place which ensures that they’re professional when it comes to security and performing checks.
I’ve used RationalFX as my independent broker and they’re the only company i know at the moment that provide the closest market level rates with 0 fees.
Tom, I think this pose is the one that has been causing you problems. It appears that it caused all further comments to hang up in the system because of an issue with the URL.
I’m going to do more research bore i comment further but I removed the link that appears to be a problem. I will explain more when I can.
I don’t know what is going on, it looks like Phising as the link this person provided didn’t go to the RationalFX site. John, if you’re out there, perhaps you have a reasonable explanation. For now, you’re link has been removed to protect my readers. I also entered data in your registration form before I did some more research.
A word of caution to readers, be very careful I have read that RationalFX has been targeted by scammers involved in Phishing. A blogger was fooled by one such site and though that RationalFX was a scam. It doesn’t appear to be but is a victim itself. You can see that bloggers post here
I have the same issue going on right now. Little old me, someone has setup a site using my name.
Hey the Wells Fargo is also hooked up with BPI and BDO. You can open wells Fargo account and the open with the other banks in the Philippines. Whichever you choose. I have BPI and BDO and you send yourself money to your account at the one you want to use and pick up funds there.
Are you happy with Wells Fargo customer service?
I tried to ask them about that online and couldn’t get a straight answer. As usual, they just tell me to call. I don’t know why they pretend to have online customer service as they don’t provide anything but a canned answer. They don’t provide real customer service online. Just canned answers that say call us.
Xoom is cheaper unless you qualify for one of their other accounts, which I think I do but I couldn’t get a straight answer out of them. I can do everything online with Xoom. Xoom meets my needs much better.
I’m not at all impressed with Wells Fargo. They have not yet learned that the days of impersonally and inadequate customer service is coming to an end.
Hi Rusty. I am a regular reader of your site and happened to do a google search and your article came up. Really cool as I like your site and your articles. Anyway, hope you are doing well. I will be coming to the Phils next month and wanted to know if I could use xoom to send myself money using an ip address there in the Phils. I use xoom here and love it. I have been a long time customer and never had a problem. So, is your advice for me to use a debit card for cash at atm’s or use xoom and pick it up? Thanks Rusty, I really trust and respect you. It is odd to respect someone from afar, having never met. Take care buddy
I would use Xoom, sending money via ATM card is too expensive in my case. Too many fees. I’d be a little concerned about that first transaction from within the Philippines. There could be a delay. Since you’ve used them many times, probably not but one never knows. They don’t do that to me any more but they did on the first few transactions.
Thanks Rusty. Yes, now that I am a regular customer the transaction goes thru within minutes. Would you prepay for a hotel via debit card or just show up and pay in person? I will probably use my card to pay for hotels when there unless it is better to pay with cash. I just do not want to carry around alot of cash when there.
I would like to know how it goes on your first transaction once you are in the Philippines. Mine went fast even as a new customer as long as I used my VPN. And once I started putting the money in my bank account here there were no more delays, even without the VPN. It is probably that they just began to trust the transaction.
Don’t prepay your hotel. I’ve seen too many people decide a hotel wasn’t right for them and they hotel wouldn’t refund the advanced days paid. When I check in, I always say I’m not sure how long I’m going to stay. I pay one night.
Good advice. Thanks for your time my friend! Hope you are feeling ok. Every day I see these commercials on tv about horomone replacement therapy I think to myself “I wonder if that would help Rusty”. Do they promote that procedure in the Phils much? Take care Rusty
Rusty, What if one opens a Bank account with a Philippines National Bank branch in the states. There happens to be a branch in the NYC here I currently live. Wouldn’t that money then be readily available throughout the their branches in the Philippines? Thanks and may you be well always
I would think so Peter but I don’t really know. Most of us don’t live in a city where there is just an option. I think there is a bank or two from the Philippines in California and New York and that’s it. Or at least that was all I could find five years ago. Maybe it has changed now. It isn’t an option for most people in the world. I think I would certainly give it a try. At least call and ask.
Thanks Rusty! I’ll give them a call and will let you know what they have to say. My apartment sale is closing in late February and I plan on coming over in mid to late March. Your site and Expat Training Manual have been invaluable. I highly recommend the manual to anyone thinking of coming to live in the Philippines.
Quick question. Have you ever deposited a personal USA check in a Filipino bank and how long did it take to clear?
Thank you and may you and your family be well always.
I haven’t but was told 30 days. I was having trouble getting cash after a typhoon once. It was three years ago and hit at the first of the month and I was out of money and couldn’t get an Internet connection for a few days. It was a major pain in the butt.
Jessie finally ended up taking a bus to Cebu City so we could eat something and pay the rent. She used an ATM in a Cebu City mall. This was a rural issue and probably wouldn’t happen here now either.
Thanks for your kind words and recommendation Peter.
Rusty, my girl is suggesting that we open a joint bank account when I arrive at least until I can get the ARC-I card and can open my own. When it comes to money I’m not sure if this is such a great idea. Do you have a joint account with Jessie? What’s your take on this? I’ve come to believe in what she tells me, but you never really know. Thanks again for your great advice.
I wouldn’t do it and I don’t think it is even an option. Jessie usually has the majority of my money that I have in the Philippines, my bank card but no reason for her to be on the account and I think only your spouse can be on your account here. At least it looked that way on the forms I saw. BUT, I didn’t ask.
There are many places you can send the money to yourself using Xoom or Remit Home and pick it up yourself.
Credit cards have become easier to use here in the major stores but I still use almost entirely cash. When I first got here that was the only option so I got use to that.
Jesse usually has Rusty’s money now, but I doubt that was the case early on in the relationship. And even still after they are practically married she does not have her name on the accounts so this shows the kind of precautions you shou take. lts always better to error on the side of caution. You picked your girl cause your sure she is right for you, but don’t put youself at risk unnecessarily. Trust your instincts it does does not sound like a good idea to me either. There will be many instances where her knowledge will be good for and you will have to rely on it but this is not one of them. Good luck.
Rusty & BigMoneyBruce, Sound advice from both of you. I sincerely appreciate it.