One important question that most expats have about retiring to the Philippines is how to access their pensions and/or their money in USA and other foreign banks. Since I am American, I am familiar with access to money in USA Banks from the Philippines and it is not a problem for my family and I. There are a number of banks in the many cities in the Philippines which have a working relationship with a number of banks in the USA. Direct Deposit is not normally a problem from USA banks to certain Philippine banks.
I am still a few years away from starting my early USA Social Security retirement pension but I know many American expats in our area of the Philippines who receive their pension in the local banks in Bacolod City. I have also been told that since they live in the Philippines and unlike in the States, they all have their money in their Philippine bank by the 3rd of every month, regardless of their age or birth date.
Opening a Philippine Bank Account
Dealing with banks in the Philippines is much like dealing with the various government agencies in the Philippines in that each particular branch or office seems to have their own SOP and it differs from branches and offices even within the same city! You will learn the banking requirements of the particular bank branch you are planning to open an account when you appear in person, ready to open a bank account and make an initial deposit.
Many banks in the Philippines require that a foreigner have a valid ACR I-Card issued from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration. However, some banks do not require an ACR I-Card, which is the Alien Certificate of Registration. Those with the permanent 13a Visa, also known as the spouse visa, and those who are in the Philippines on an extended tourist or visitor’s visa, after 21 days, are required to have an ACR I-Card, even if they do not plan to open a bank account. Those on the Balikbayan Privilege for one year are not required to have an ACR I-Card.
Transferring Money From Abroad
The easiest way to transfer money from your bank account in your home country to the Philippines is by writing a personal check and depositing it in your Philippine bank. This is a free service and there is not a fee. Depending on the bank, it will take 14-30 days for the foreign check to clear and the funds available at your Philippine bank.
There are hundreds of ATMs in the city where I live and most honor foreign debit and credit cards if they are Visa or Master Card. There is a standard P200 charge for using the foreign cards and your home bank in your home country will most likely charge a service fee. It costs me about $6 USD every time I use my American bank issued debit card at an ATM in the Philippines, so I make sure I withdraw the maximum amount allowed to make it worth while. P10,000 is pretty much the standard withdrawal limit each draw and some American banks have a maximum P20,000 limit in one 24 hour period of time. This is to prevent someone from emptying out your account should you lose your ATM card and someone gets lucky with the pin number!
Some Philippine banks will issue credit cards to expats but some banks base the credit line on the amount one has on deposit within their bank account.
Armed with the correct information, banking in the Philippines is a snap!
Is it possible to use a bank that has international branches, like CitiBank, and avoid the hassle of having an account in the USA and another in the Philippines?
It is very possible, Tony. I know a number of expats whose Social Security pension is direct deposited in their Philippines bank and they do not have a USA bank account.
Gary
Gary,
My wife is in Bacolod right now visiting her family. I spoke to her last night and she said she was having difficulty exchanging $100 USD bills minted befor 1979. In fact she was given only 2000 Pesos for the $100. bill at a bank. Is this accurate or was she scammed?
Jim
Not sure why your wife would have trouble exchanging a $100 bill. I did some research and couldn’t find anything about a problem on the internet. The exchange rate is currently 45.02 so your wife accepted less than half the true value. You can have her check the exchange rate at xe.com so that she can make an informed decision when changing money. I don’t think it’s fair to say she was scammed because she could have easily have chosen not to exchange the money at that bank.
Steve
Thanks Steve. I had never heard of a lack of acceptance of US currency due to the age of the bill but thought maybe this is something new in the Philippines. It seems whomever my wife was dealing with wanted the new type of US bills. I’m not even sure it was a bank. I think she inquired with several folks there in Bacolod but no one was sure about what she was being told. Oh well, next time I’ll only give her twenties. lol
Jim,
It is true that the banks and money changers want the newer US Currency Notes. This is common in Bacolod City. They also give below the exchange rate if the notes are less than $100. Forget $20 notes, as some will not even accept those even at 1/2 the exchange rate.
~ Gary ~
Thanks Gary,
It looks like I have a lot to learn about the Philippines! We plan on moving to Bacolod in Aug 2015. Hope to run into you.
Jim
You are welcome, Jim. I will make sure you run into me once you get to Bacolod.
Regards,
~ Gary ~
How difficult would it be to just continue using your U.S. bank? I already have the best financial services company in the world USAA. They have toll free numbers for most parts of the world. I have had no problems withdrawing from ATM machines worldwide. I have a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees.
I could see maintaining one small local bank account but I envision most of my funds staying where they are and no change in direct deposits.
Mitch,
I have maintained my hometown bank account in Florida for almost 6 years now, while living full time in the Philippines. No problems.
~ Gary ~
Do you have to keep a US address in order to keep a US bank account while living in the Philipinnes
Mike – You can easily change the address on the account to a friend or family member. That’s what many expats do including myself. I’m a UK citizen but lived in the US for 5 years and retain my bank account from back then. I’ve done so for 11 years with absolutely no issues whatsoever.
Hope that helps Mike.
Steve
OK Thanks for the info. .My credit union does have an option to set my address to a foreign address. I will give them a call.
@Mitch Dowler
You do have a good bank. There are probably fewer than ten others that are better for the purposes of this discussion, (some USAA services are unavailable if you maintain a non U.S. adddress) but with a bit of planning and fine tuning I find USAA to be quite adequate.
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/credit_cards_rates_and_fees_regular?akredirect=true
Typically USAA rebates up to 10 foreign ATM withdrawals per month or until the cumulative foreign bank charges total $15. They give rebates at the end of the month in which fees are incurred. The USAA foreign transaction fee seems to me to be a constant 1%. What kind of USAA card do you have that features no foreign transaction fees?
To save on transaction fees, my suggestion is to make withdrawals from an HSBC ATM if there is one near your city. It allows up to PHP40,000 per withdrawal. The fee would depend on how much your bank will charge you for making an overseas withdrawal I guess. Manila, Cebu and Davao have HSBC branches and ATMs. Citibank has Citibank Global Transfer which allows you to move your money from your Citibank account abroad without a charge (incoming). Outgoing transfer fee will depend on your originating country. See here. https://www.citibank.com.ph/gcb/static/os_over_cgt.htm
I have tried exchanging a $20 bill at SM and they allowed it for the rate advertised. I have also exchanged $1 bills at Czarina Money Exchange in Makati and no deductions from the advertised rate either. I usually go to Czarina when in Manila as they have the best rates most of the time. Unfortunately, they have no branches outside of Metro Manila. I am not too sure though if there are still no deductions after the newer US currency bills were released. I will find out for sure when we come home later this month. I will come back for an update later.
Thank you for the information, will be moving after the first of the year. Unlike you guys we will be living in the city Marikina, we have had a house there for a number of years in my wife’s mothers compound. The only thing I wonder about is mail and secure mail, as you know it takes forever on letters and such. Thank you Mike
My wife and I are planning to retire in the Lipa City, Batangas area (she’s originally from Iloilo City, but we like Lipa City better).. We opened an account at BPI on our recent trip to the Philippines. A couple weeks ago, we opened a bank account at Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo offers a service called ExpressSend that allows us to transfer money from our Wells Fargo account to our account at BPI. They charge a transaction fee of $5.00 and the money is usually in the BPI account within 24 to 36 hours. This will allow us to keep our money in our Wells Fargo account and transfer it to the BPI account as needed. Bank of America offers a similar service, but charges $20.
I have found the easiest and cheapest way to transfer money from the USA to almost any city in the Philippines is by having a bank account at Wells Fargo in the USA and one of the five banks that they affiliate with in the Philippines. Bank of the Philippine Islands is the one I use in Maasin City and Butuan City.
I can transfer up to 3000.00 USD per day for only 4.00 dollars.
I have my civil service pension and military pension go to Wells Fargo via direct deposit. Then online I can transfer money to the Philippines in a matter of minutes, and it is safe in my Philippine bank account.
This is handy since you cannot direct deposit your military pension to the Philippines.
Hope this is helpful.
Thanks for the information Joe. I’m sure our readers will find it useful.
– Steve
i am building a house in cebu. my philippine national wife has a joint account with her mother. i keep finding information about taxes imposed on transfers to this account (metro bank).
(1) the $10,000 limit by the usa (without extra paperwork), is this total for one year or is it per/day.
(2) are you aware of any taxes that would be imposed on these monies or philippine laws stating how much you transfer per a period of time.. my wife is not an ofw of course but a pemanent resident