Banking In The Philippines

[kev_n_jena 89]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice and first I will tell you our situation.

In June of 2011, while we were vacationing in The Philippines, my wife opened a savings account at China Bank. The main reason she did this was so that a relative could make deposits for a loan that she gave them. We were supposed to be able to check the balance online in the states.

Our first problem was trying to check the balance while on a Virgin Mobile broadband internet connection. We couldn't get through and were blocked. The next time we tried from my internet service at work and we were able to get through to the server but she forgot the password! We tried 3 different passwords and then the account was "locked" from internet access. We've talked to people at the bank several times and they tell us to get a new password we need to show up in person. Well, that won't happen until late 2013 and I'm hoping the account will still be open by that time.

In the meantime the relative continues to make deposits so I assume the account is still open.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can check her balance? With all the fraud these days I don't blame the bank for requiring an in person appearance with picture ID.

Is there a better bank to open an account with next time?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[thinkerlove0212 158]

Some of it is beyond my expertise but I have read that it has to do with your IP address but there is some type of service that changes your IP address to hide where your at. There is a way around it.

[Caryh 5,206]

If they've locked your account down and they require an in person appearance, you're kind of stuck. There is no way to view it once an account is locked down. The problem is in their methods to unlock it. Don't expect them to budge on that. I'm not sure if you've been able to move up the line to a manager, but if you can talk with someone in authority, maybe they'll understand an be able to unlock the account for you. The Philippines way of doing business is not via phone or internet, its still mainly based on in face transactions.

[kev_n_jena 89]

If they've locked your account down and they require an in person appearance, you're kind of stuck. There is no way to view it once an account is locked down. The problem is in their methods to unlock it. Don't expect them to budge on that. I'm not sure if you've been able to move up the line to a manager, but if you can talk with someone in authority, maybe they'll understand an be able to unlock the account for you. The Philippines way of doing business is not via phone or internet, its still mainly based on in face transactions.

Our only fear is that if the account has no activity for a certain amount of time they might just close it. I don't know what the law is on dormant accounts.

[neodragon0l 6]

I am no expert, but the website says that the bank has been receiving some phishing emails. http://www.chinabank.ph/personal/. My family uses PNB and we have no problems with the accounts. the password can be changed online. I wish you luck. Let us know if you figure out what you to do. Thanks!

[ca_babe 129]

Is there a better bank to open an account with next time?

I use Bank of the Philippine Islands. You can open one by going to one of their Remittance Centers over here in US. You need to send somebody in Philippines to pick up the ATM card though. I gave my mom an authorization letter and she picked out the PIN as well. Then, she gave me the card. The good thing about BPI is that if your account has been locked, you may wait for 24 days and then you can try again. I also use the remittance center to send money to my bank account to BPI and then I can easily transfer money online to another BPI account. I can also check the balances and get e-statements. When I need to take out money from my BPI PH account, I just used a Bank of America ATM. There was a $2.00 charge from what I recall.

[th and jv 3]

... most of the philipine banks have a dormancy period of 2 years ...

... if there is no activity within 2 years, they deduct a monthly service charge ...

... other banks, upon request, can mail you monthly bank statements ...

... suggest you inquire from your bank directly any other possibilities ...

... chinabank is one of the philippine banks that are currently stable ...

... you may want to try banco de oro (BDO), metrobank (MBTC)and bank of the philippine islands (BPI)...

... hope this helps ...

Our only fear is that if the account has no activity for a certain amount of time they might just close it. I don't know what the law is on dormant accounts.

Edited November 10, 2012 by th and jv

[iLoveMatt 0]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice and first I will tell you our situation.

In June of 2011, while we were vacationing in The Philippines, my wife opened a savings account at China Bank. The main reason she did this was so that a relative could make deposits for a loan that she gave them. We were supposed to be able to check the balance online in the states.

Our first problem was trying to check the balance while on a Virgin Mobile broadband internet connection. We couldn't get through and were blocked. The next time we tried from my internet service at work and we were able to get through to the server but she forgot the password! We tried 3 different passwords and then the account was "locked" from internet access. We've talked to people at the bank several times and they tell us to get a new password we need to show up in person. Well, that won't happen until late 2013 and I'm hoping the account will still be open by that time.

In the meantime the relative continues to make deposits so I assume the account is still open.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can check her balance? With all the fraud these days I don't blame the bank for requiring an in person appearance with picture ID.

Is there a better bank to open an account with next time?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hello,

Did you use bancnetonline.com to check your china bank balance? The password for that is your 6 digit ATM card PIN. It is not the same with other banks like BPI and BDO wherein you need to nominate a password. Maybe you can try again using a different internet connection/IP address? If your wife still remembers her atm PIN. Since it uses PIN, it is usually impossible to change it by phone unlike BDO and BPI wherein you can just call them and after answering specific questions that would assure them that you are the account holder, you can nominate another password thereby allowing you to do onlinebanking from anywhere.

Also, an account will not be closed as long as it has funds in it still but it will be charged a dormant fee but you said your relatives do deposits in that account so in that case i guess it won't be charged a dormant fee. Your wife's account will surely remain active until your visit next year

[kev_n_jena 89]

Hello,

Did you use bancnetonline.com to check your china bank balance? The password for that is your 6 digit ATM card PIN. It is not the same with other banks like BPI and BDO wherein you need to nominate a password. Maybe you can try again using a different internet connection/IP address? If your wife still remembers her atm PIN. Since it uses PIN, it is usually impossible to change it by phone unlike BDO and BPI wherein you can just call them and after answering specific questions that would assure them that you are the account holder, you can nominate another password thereby allowing you to do onlinebanking from anywhere.

Also, an account will not be closed as long as it has funds in it still but it will be charged a dormant fee but you said your relatives do deposits in that account so in that case i guess it won't be charged a dormant fee. Your wife's account will surely remain active until your visit next year

Thanks for your reply, the account is a savings account and she was not issued an ATM card. If we are lucky the account will still be active next year when we visit since there is still activity on the account.

[A and T 82]

Philippines banking is terrible you are better off to send them moneygram if you want to send money to avoid the issues

[kev_n_jena 89]

Philippines banking is terrible you are better off to send them moneygram if you want to send money to avoid the issues

If you read my original post you will see why we opened the account.

[Tintin and Mike 127]

We have BDO and we haven't encountered any major issues except for the usual lag from the tellers because they'd rather 'giggle around' in the back when the line is all the way back to the entrance door.

Good luck!

[kev_n_jena 89]

One stipulation we must make when considering a new Philippine bank is that it must have a branch in Catarman, N. Samar or preferably Laoang, N. Samar. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to make deposits from Laoang to a Philippine bank right now without incurring large expenses. Most of Jena's relatives don't have any experience with banks so I'm kind of on my own when trying to set this up.

There is a "M Lhuhillier" down the street from Jena's relatives, maybe they can deposit from there?

[aiel11 0]

you may want to try Banco de Oro (BDO). we have an account there and my husband uses online banking to transfer money from there and have been locked many times but all we do is call the customer service and they just verify the identity so we can reset the password. good Luck.

[kev_n_jena 89]

you may want to try Banco de Oro (BDO). we have an account there and my husband uses online banking to transfer money from there and have been locked many times but all we do is call the customer service and they just verify the identity so we can reset the password. good Luck.

Thanks, unfortunately I think the nearest branch is in Catbalogan which is too far. I think these are our choices:

Philippine National Bank

China Banking Corporation

City Savings Bank

First Consolidated Bank

Edited November 10, 2012 by kev_n_jena