Joint account

[flicks1998 1,044]

8 hours ago, Skyman said:

Probably you were there as a tourist so no, they won't let you have an account.  I have accounts in Metrobank and BPI (USD and PHP) in my name only.  I hate Metrobank but have the account to transfer pay to my employee and it's the most convenient to him.  BPI is about as close to a western bank as you'll find in the RP and reasonably easy to work with online.

 

As for joint accounts, I have tried to get my wife on some of my US accounts but without a SSAN the best I have managed is to get her a couple of my credit cards.  My AMEX and Capitol One cards.  Both are ok for the Philippines as no foreign transaction fees.

 

As a consumer, I love credit cards.  But I can certainly understand there are many that shouldn't have them and have no concept of what they're doing.  I use them for what I need and think very hard before using them for what I want.  If you see a credit card as a bottomless pit of money then you'll find yourself in a bottomless pit of debt.  I pay my bill each month and this allows me to go months without hitting an ATM.  I seldom carry more than $100.  Even in the RP I keep less than p5K unless I have expected expenditures I can't use a card to pay.  My credit score is high enough that I get offered cards with 0% interest for 18-24 months which I happily except and max out using the money to invest or whatever.  Pay the minimum until the end of the free term and then payoff and have money left over.  

 

I'm not a business owner but a friend of mine is and he uses his business card for everything the business needs.  When his family travels, they fly 1st class on the miles.  I can understand why a business wouldn't like them but the fees are for the convenience to your customers, many of which won't go to a place that won't take cards.

Actually it depends if you can open an account as a tourist. Anyone on a 9a is a tourist whether they are there for 1 day or up to 3 years before they need to leave. Eventually you can apply for an ACR card as a tourist and once you have this you can normally open a bank account. However you’ll need to stay for a few months at the minimum. 

[Skyman 327]

5 hours ago, Talako said:

I try not to use credit cards in the Philippines, as they always seem to want to add a 3% surcharge to cover the fee. I'm not willing to pay for the convenience.

That's only happened to me once or twice and I just told them it's illegal to raise the quoted price because of paying by credit card.  No problem.  The gas station I use gives a p2/liter cash discount and they still do when I use my card.

 

The one thing to watch is if they ask if you want to pay in pesos or dollars.  Always pay in pesos because the dollar exchange rate is very bad.

Edited April 3, 2021 by Skyman

[Talako 790]

6 hours ago, Skyman said:

That's only happened to me once or twice and I just told them it's illegal to raise the quoted price because of paying by credit card.  No problem.  The gas station I use gives a p2/liter cash discount and they still do when I use my card.

 

The one thing to watch is if they ask if you want to pay in pesos or dollars.  Always pay in pesos because the dollar exchange rate is very bad.

It is not illegal to charge a fee for using a card.  Here in the US, gas stations, paying my HOA fee, the guy who fixed my furnace, and my kid's college tuition all incur a fee for the use of the card.  Most businesses don't charge a fee, but some do.

 

If you can get them to eliminate it great, but it is not illegal.

 

[Skyman 327]

3 hours ago, Talako said:

It is not illegal to charge a fee for using a card.  Here in the US, gas stations, paying my HOA fee, the guy who fixed my furnace, and my kid's college tuition all incur a fee for the use of the card.  Most businesses don't charge a fee, but some do.

 

If you can get them to eliminate it great, but it is not illegal.

 

If they say the price is 4800 or 4600 cash. That's fine. If they say the price is 4600 cash but we add 200 for credit card, that's also fine. If you have a sign posted to the affect of 3% charge for credit or 3% cash discount, all fine. But if they quote you a price and then say they have to increase the price for using a card when they have a visa/mc sign on the door. That's illegal.

[flicks1998 1,044]

3 hours ago, Skyman said:

If they say the price is 4800 or 4600 cash. That's fine. If they say the price is 4600 cash but we add 200 for credit card, that's also fine. If you have a sign posted to the affect of 3% charge for credit or 3% cash discount, all fine. But if they quote you a price and then say they have to increase the price for using a card when they have a visa/mc sign on the door. That's illegal.

You both are correct. It’s not illegal per se but it’s written in the cardholders agreement.  Technically overseas merchants cannot charge a fee. As for merchants in the US, it’s legal but based on state law. Some states are allowed to do it, some they can’t.

 

In the past, pre 2010, many times you could get overseas merchants to itemize the credit card fee on the receipt. You could then send this to your credit card company and you would get reimbursed by the cc company and the cc company would collect from the merchant. Then the merchants got smart by burying it in the total fee and not itemizing it

 

As someone who has lived outside of the US for most of the last 25 years, an international merchant cannot charge a credit card fee but many do anyway. 

Edited April 4, 2021 by flicks1998

[Joe Kano 327]

8 hours ago, Talako said:

It is not illegal to charge a fee for using a card.  Here in the US, gas stations, paying my HOA fee, the guy who fixed my furnace, and my kid's college tuition all incur a fee for the use of the card.  Most businesses don't charge a fee, but some do.

 

If you can get them to eliminate it great, but it is not illegal.

 

Depends on where you live if it illegal or not

[Talako 790]

3 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

You both are correct. It’s not illegal per se but it’s written in the cardholders agreement.  Technically overseas merchants cannot charge a fee. As for merchants in the US, it’s legal but based on state law. Some states are allowed to do it, some they can’t.

 

In the past, pre 2010, many times you could get overseas merchants to itemize the credit card fee on the receipt. You could then send this to your credit card company and you would get reimbursed by the cc company and the cc company would collect from the merchant. Then the merchants got smart by burying it in the total fee and not itemizing it

 

As someone who has lived outside of the US for most of the last 25 years, an international merchant cannot charge a credit card fee but many do anyway. 

Thanks for the clarification.