Needs advice about wiring money to the Philippines

[az110965 252]

I will be leaving a lot of pending business here in the Philippines. I will have an unpaid lot, credit card, pending SSS Loan and I want to continue my contribution.

I do not like to use MoneyGram, Xoom or LBC because it eats up a lot of transaction fee.

For 3yrs, my fiance gave me his ATM to save money for his vacation here (he's a spendthrift and money is kinda tight as well). He's only charged for $6 for every $235 or less that I get. I am looking for other ways to wire money but here are my situation...

-I am thinking about opening up a BDO account but there's no BDO in Cleveland. I cant try to open up an account remotely but how much is the charge?

-How about PNB? I heard it's cheaper but I don't know how much?

-Can my brother open up an account here and I'll just wire a money through my husbands account from Cleveland using computer?

-How is the swift code work?

-The only banks that I know exists on both Cleveland and the Philippines are HSBC and Citibank. Can my brother open up an account here on either banks then I'll just deposit a money in it? Does it need swift code? Anybody knows about the charge?

Leaving my husbands ATM is the best thing that I could think of now but not that I do not trust my brother for the ATM but I am looking for other ways to transfer money in the Philippines when I am already in the US.

Any input will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

"I am thinking about opening up a BDO account but there's no BDO in Cleveland"

Small world. I live about 20 minutes West of Cleveland. Tell your fiance I'm in Westlake. If you guys need anything, give a holler!

[TeapotGirl 66]

"I am thinking about opening up a BDO account but there's no BDO in Cleveland"

Small world. I live about 20 minutes West of Cleveland. Tell your fiance I'm in Westlake. If you guys need anything, give a holler!

Si si. I saw your profile before but I am thinking that I do not speak Spanish. I just know some words but maybe your wife could teach me to speak in full sentences.

[az110965 252]

Si si. I saw your profile before but I am thinking that I do not speak Spanish. I just know some words but maybe your wife could teach me to speak in full sentences.

She speaks excellent English also, and I'm sure she'd be happy to teach you Spanish. It's gonna be along, cold winter here so having a new friend would be helpful to he (and hopefully you). being that we're only about 15 minutes apart it'll be great for you to become friends.

[TeapotGirl 66]

She speaks excellent English also, and I'm sure she'd be happy to teach you Spanish. It's gonna be along, cold winter here so having a new friend would be helpful to he (and hopefully you). being that we're only about 15 minutes apart it'll be great for you to become friends.

Sure. I will be on Bay Village. Weather there sucks. Maybe in a year or 2, we'll move to FL. Somewhere there's plenty of sun.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I have used Western Union but they get expensive. When I was in the Phils with Amy I had her open a bank account then I got the swift code from the assistant at the bank and when I got home I setup wire transfer from my account here. My bank charges a flat fee which is not really cheap so I wire larger amounts from time to time. And of course the bank in the Phils takes their cut by converting to pesos at a slightly lower rate. Still with all that it is cheaper then western union.

[Dogwood_Poet 16]

I have a PayPal account & you can order two debit cards, so I ordered one for my mother-in-law & send it to her in the Philippines. She can use it in any ATM to withdraw money, but in the past few months they have added a 250 peso fee for any out-of-country withdrawls.

However, she can use it as credit to purchase groceries and other items and there is no fees at all.

If you are not in any hurry to transfer, you can do a bank transfer to your PayPal account without any fees, but it takes two or three days for the money to be available.

[PaulnUsa 19]

I will be leaving a lot of pending business here in the Philippines. I will have an unpaid lot, credit card, pending SSS Loan and I want to continue my contribution.

I do not like to use MoneyGram, Xoom or LBC because it eats up a lot of transaction fee.

For 3yrs, my fiance gave me his ATM to save money for his vacation here (he's a spendthrift and money is kinda tight as well). He's only charged for $6 for every $235 or less that I get. I am looking for other ways to wire money but here are my situation...

-I am thinking about opening up a BDO account but there's no BDO in Cleveland. I cant try to open up an account remotely but how much is the charge?

-How about PNB? I heard it's cheaper but I don't know how much?

-Can my brother open up an account here and I'll just wire a money through my husbands account from Cleveland using computer?

-How is the swift code work?

-The only banks that I know exists on both Cleveland and the Philippines are HSBC and Citibank. Can my brother open up an account here on either banks then I'll just deposit a money in it? Does it need swift code? Anybody knows about the charge?

Leaving my husbands ATM is the best thing that I could think of now but not that I do not trust my brother for the ATM but I am looking for other ways to transfer money in the Philippines when I am already in the US.

Any input will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

If you open a WellsFargo Bank Account in the USA. If you have a Prime Checking account you can send money to Philippines for FREE. There is no transaction fee and there exchange rate is better than Western Union or Zoom. Google Wells Fargo Express Send, then look at the Prime Checking. There are 3 different types of Prime Checking accounts that allow you to send money for FREE.

[PaulnUsa 19]

Here's how we do it now. It costs $5.00 each time and we can send up to $1000 per day. My fiancee has a BPI account. I have a Wells Fargo account. Open a checking account at Wells Fargo, Take all the BPI info to the Wells Fargo Branch (there's alot in Massachusetts) BPI and Wells Fargo has a partnership. The first transaction has to be done at the branch after that it can be done on line. It's always in her account by 10:00 am the next business day.

If you set up a Prime Checking account you can use Wells Fargo Express Send for FREE.

Here's how we do it now. It costs $5.00 each time and we can send up to $1000 per day. My fiancee has a BPI account. I have a Wells Fargo account. Open a checking account at Wells Fargo, Take all the BPI info to the Wells Fargo Branch (there's alot in Massachusetts) BPI and Wells Fargo has a partnership. The first transaction has to be done at the branch after that it can be done on line. It's always in her account by 10:00 am the next business day.

If you set up a Prime Checking account you can use Wells Fargo Express Send for FREE.

[PaulnUsa 19]

1. Send money to my Philippine account online (with a fee of $7 per send), i send money every other month just to save with the fees.

2. Send my money online to my brother who has also a BPI account, this is free using BPI expressonline. (make sure that you enroll your relative account to your account before you left the Philippines)

3. Pay my credit card bills online, this is also free (make sure that you also enroll your credit card account to your BPI expressonline account)

Hope this help.

I Also Use Express Send. If you set up a Prime Checking Accounts you can Send Money fro FREE!! As Much as You want As many Times a Month that you like. There is no Fee. The $7 fee is if you walk in and send at window. If you Connect Express send to your Online Prime Checking Account you can send for FREE

[Joandjo 20]

If you set up a Prime Checking account you can use Wells Fargo Express Send for FREE.

If you set up a Prime Checking account you can use Wells Fargo Express Send for FREE.

I have Value checking. Express send costs me $5.00 I'm in Texas.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Joandjo

[Ron and Rhea 42]

I've used them all and find Xoom to be the easiest and cheapest, 5 bucks...and very quick to her, my 2cents.

[Brian121957 43]

Besure you look at exchange rates as well as fees. You may find the exchange rates cost you more then the fee does.

Unless you have someone back in the Philipines who can take care of the details you will be paying big fees. Once you have some one set up in the Philipines to transfer and actualy pay the individule bills then send bigger amounts. I found xoom.com to be the best. Not only was their fee ($5.99) less but the they had a good exchange rate. Or you can send as USD and you may find a local bank to get an even better exchange rate.

Watch out using ATM or Credit cards. Not only do they have fees but the exchange rats is usualy very bad.

[Shenzhen 34]

You should check out a PayPal account I can send money to china for .75 using PayPal for 150 us.

Also zoom direct to bank account in Philippines is also pretty cheap

[Nok&Gary 0]

I use a Walmart money card to send money to my finance. I applied for a card and got her one as well. I can put money on the card at any Walmart (there are other options too) and it costs $3 each time I load the card with money and there is a $3 monthly fee. Don't know if this helps or not.

[stefan y karen 23]

I would endorse the Walmart Money Card option too as it is a way to limit your exposure for as little as $6 a month, but I did have one other thought about leveraging what you already have.

Question: The ATM card you already have, is it a stand alone account just for you to use or does it access the checking account that he primarily uses back in the US? If it is a stand-alone checking account just for you, use that! Your brother won't be able to access any money unless you put money in that account. Now if it is a debit card that accesses the primary checking account back here in the US, you can talk to the bank about capping the daily usage and withdrawal on that card. So if you cap it at $100 - $250 you at least cap your exposure risk. As long as you monitor transactions on the account, you should be able to stop your brother from doing too much damage. Futhermore, if he does go nuts, report it stolen and they will cancel it altogether and I think if you report it within 24 hours, they will refund all of your money except $50. Now, if you do report it stolen, depending on how diligent local law enforcement is, he may be getting a visit.