Banking in the Philippines!!!! My do's and Don'ts of opening a account!! 

I don't have a bank account, but I use GCash, which is widely accepted here in the Philippines and also allows to do bank transfers and payments of e. g. electricity and phone bills. The main limit there is 100'000 PHP per month.

Open a china bank account. You can write a personal check from your state side bank. It takes about 15 days to clear with no fee's from China bank.

Rich,again the details and information you take the time to put out is invaluable to the expat community thank you sir.

For what it is worth, I established a bank account in the Philippines prior to relocating here. I have a joint PP account with my wife, as well as a foreign currency account, USD and GBP in my name, with BDO as well as an account with BNP, which we established while we lived in HK. We own property, we have investments and a regular income. We also operate our pensions/health/ kids' education plans through the bank. The staff come to us to us when we make financial decisions - no queuing at the counter, although I don't really care, but it gives my wife 'face'. We opened our accounts while we lived in HK and simply verified/validated them when we came here.

Always something to learn. Good info!

Making friends is the key 🔑 to being successful in the Philippines.....YES IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A BANK account for safety and covenient, YOU CAN OPEN A INVESTMENT Account like an "international index fund" account using a dollar currency. I am glad I did.....

Philippine National Bank will open accounts for Americans in America with a passport and driver's license. PNB has branches all over the US and worldwide. No baranguay clearance, ACR card, letter from my landlord or any of that other BS are required in America, because customers are treated better in America. I tried to open an account at BDO in Manhattan and they absolutely refused. The cheapest way to transfer money is to write yourself a check and deposit it in your Filipino account. It takes 30 days to clear, though. Remittances are a ripoff and they give you a poor exchange rate.

Very wise in my opinion to have people in the bank on your side when you walk in there ! -- So much better when the unexpected happens and you are vulnerable - happens to all of us at times - and it is so worthwhile when -- SH*T HAPPENS ! --- Could be a potential much bigger pain in the ass - not to have the account in country ! --- Well done in my opinion. 🤗

Good info once again Rich.

Most appreciated banking coverage, Rich; (always appreciate Steve's channel).

Great and info, many thanks. Best wishes.

I went to BPI to open an account an they wouldn't because I'm on a tourist visa. Said I had to be a permanent resident. So I tried BDO at SM mall Clark and it wasn't a problem. I took my passport, ACR card, power bill and rental agreement, they took my photo with the webcam and my fingerprints and that was it.

Thats some good ingormation, you have a good day

Thank you for your help todsay with the introduction to Christian and setting up a bank account. It was beyond helpful as I was making little headway on my own. It was really nice meeting you and rather surreal at the same time. I had already deduced that this was the bank you were talking about. I had mentioned that maybe we'd see you and then you walked by right in front of me. I really appreciate what you did and all the information you provide on the channel👍

Thank you Rich for the very detailed information on opening and using a bank account there. i’ve heard general pros and cons but this really gives you a heads up as to what it takes and some of the benefits of having one. 👍

Hi Rich, unfortunately I missed catching up with you guys on my recent visit, should be back in July/August hopefully will catch you guys then. Cheers Aussie John

Excellent video with some very good information. You are absolutely correct; it can be very beneficial to bank locally in the Philippines. I have been banking in the Philippines for more than twenty years and always very pleased with the services I have received. Regarding which bank to do business with my recommendation would be to do business with one of the big banks that has been around a while and most convenient location meeting your preferences. PNB, BDO, Metrobank, BPI are all very good banks and you can easily transfer funds between these banks in matter of minutes. I live in Manila and and pay all my monthly bills, cell phone, electric, Internet, tv cable and other misc bills online just like I am able to do back home. Thanks for sharing.

Great info Rich. I’ve heard it’s a good idea to have a PI Bank account and appreciate the nod to BDO. Is this the same BDO global company or a Philippines Company? Thanks, Bob D

Excellent customer service

Good information thank you

Hey Rich, i have my social Security deposited in U S $ dollars to a local PNB bank, then when i need cash i pull it out in $ then go to a mueller money changer that is 24 hr. To get my Pesos. I do like it that you have yours in a mall that i did not think about, and you have an Atm card which i do not and have to go during banking hours. Weekends they are closed and holidays.

I think it is always good to take care of the people here that provides services (not just banking) to you on a regular basis. Also good to look at all your options for transferring money. My wife and I are buying a lot here and I have been looking into my options for transferring money from the US to here. Do you have any recommendations for transferring a large sum of money (around $40k) from the US to here? The main things to consider is the exchange rate and the fees.

So if I walk in with a couple dozen donuts is the manager going to say - "You must be friends with Rich. Let's get that account set up" 😂

You get allot more with sugar than you do with vinegar. In the Philippines, this is absolutely true.

My issue was my Credit Union/Main financial institution won't allow WU transfers. Ran into that issue even while trying to send myself money in from one state to another in the US. That said, Wise also has a nice feature that lets you set up an account with them, and they handle different currencies as well. The ability to move and exchange funds is all done within the company, at reasonable exchange rates. Always better to have a few options to transfer funds. Especially when you never know when the power will go out, ATMs run empty or break, or when issues will get 'fixed'. With the ongoing improvements in the Philippine's infrastructure, it seems to be getting a bit better though. Especially the digital transactions with apps like GCash.

Thanks! Really Good Info! 😁

I heard that BDO is owned by SM Mall corporation and their policy is such that they are able to remove money from your account without your knowledelge or permission. Anyone else heard that? Great info in the video and comments. Thanks!

I've had a BDO USD account for 6 years, no problems...........

Thanks for the info.

Once we were married I had my wife do all the requirements to add me to her account. We have BDO too. I found Thursday is the best day for us to go to the bank to withdraw money. We get there and take a number wait ten minutes and get served. Easy pesy. Good video Rich.

As far as remittance / wire transfers - Western Union gives good rates I'm not going to say great but they give good rates, also the fee I normally pay is 99¢. I can do it from my bank account to my foreign bank account. I never have to go pick up the money. Depending on how I'm doing the transfer via debit card credit card bank account I may have to wait 3 to 5 business days but if I really need it immediately I can I can use the option to receive immediately. ... Also I found that my American credit cards and debit cards work just fine at the foreign ATMs of course you have to consider the fees involved. I don't mind fees if there are reasonable and are worth the convenience.

I think it's an easy way to get around. Obstacles would be to do transfers using crypto

My wife has a friend in Manila. We were going on vacation to the Philippines. We sent money to her BDO account so we would have money when we got there. Someone a scammer got access to her bank account and took about $2000.00. BDO investigated and they found out who did it. However, BDO will not refund our money. That was a little over a year ago and we haven’t got anything. BDO said that the guy purchased a new iPhone. I said, if they know who did it, at least give use the iPhone. Banking in the Philippines is not the same as the USA. You are taking a risk if you have a Philippine bank account. However I only have experience with BDO and I don’t know what the laws or protections are. Does anyone else have any advice or recommendations on what banks are good? Would I be OK without a Philippine bank account? Just using cash and credit cards.

Currently dealing with the "cellphone issue" , do you have a link to the video you made, thank-you?

I cant complain with World Remit app honestly

Hi Rich, I can see why Steve chose you, to do blogs on his behalf, when he wants to have some time off. You produce great blogs. In the beginning of this blog, when you spoke of having your name on your debit card, or not, I didn’t understand whether it was an advantage, or a disadvantage? I’m thinking, having your name on your debit card, would be an advantage, because if your name is John Smith, it would look suspicious, for Filipino to try and use that card, ha ha. So, is it an advantage, or disadvantage, to have your name on a debit card, in the Philippines?

I suppose you need to be sure your going to stay in that area long term. Great video but for those (me) who are uncertain of remitz please elaborate on this. Are you referring to remitley or another way of moving money internationally? If so please walk threw those steps . I would greatly appreciate it,. thanks for the info.

i do bank to bank from chase to land bank no problems just do it on line but i keep so much here i havent had to transfer but 1 time in three years.i have a dollar account and a peso account i dont have to buy dollars i can with draw them but i never do the bank gives me the best exchange rate so i just draw pesos ' allso my ss comes straight to my dollar account i never have to get money from back home

Richard cannot believe guys from other countries wood be so rude to Filipinos handling there money...and if u have a bank account,u have been in country long enough to know how things work...Was Steve one of the guys that were rude???😊.. could of Heard you talk about money for a long time.. always learning from the expert's...😊

I'm setting up three financial institutions for money transfers in the US. All three are well known for having good overseas service.

I’ve been just having remits sent from my U.S. account directly to my Wife’s BPI account. Takes 3-5 days, sometimes, but saves me from standing around a Cebuana, or Bank for several hours

I get what you're saying and appreciate the anecdotal information. However, in my experience I have found that a foreign bank account is more hassle than it's worth. Western Union, PayPal, Xoom, and even your home bank can easily process remittances. I've used all of these many times with only modest fees. Unless you become a permanent resident, foreign banks are unnecessary imho.

I was considering getting a PNB account in the U.S., so I could access my deposits into the U.S. account, from the Philippines. But, from what I can tell, I would need to be a Filipino Citizen to open an account, even in the U.S.? Otherwise, I have to wait until my Wife and I to get our Marriage Certificate, my Wife to update her last name, and my 13A visa to be completed, and set up a joint account at her BPI, or SecurityBank. Doing a Remitly, World Remit or Xoom remit, and having the money deposited to my Wife’s account, is a pain in the patootie!

It's easy to fix a bank account in the Philippines at least it was for me. Use BPI bank.

when I open a bank account there can I see all my banking online

12:18 less than a month ago my request to open an account at both BPI and BDO was turned down because my ACR-I card status is "tourist"... Had my apartment contract dated July 2023 showing I'd been in country 8 months,, proving I'm clearly not an ordinary tourist... Banks suggested I take 3 hour bus trip to nearest immigration office and apply for new ACR-I card...

First comment.

Expats your only a guest in the Philippines, keep it simple. Rick is making expat heads explode as usual. Don't over complicate your life here. I use my US bank card, go to HSBC atm just twice a month (can pull p40k at a time). I have a safe at home, I stack cash. I only use my bank card for pension withdrawals. All my shopping, rent paying, etc is strictly cash or GCash. K.i.s.s

Here in California there is a PNB, Philippines National Bank. Can I open a bank account here and when I arrive already use that account in the Philippines? Or are there restrictions? That was my plan.

Just send it to yourself western union

C’mon, P.I. You’ve got all of us old American guys who only want to dump our life savings into your economy. You should be making it easy for us. LOL.

Using a debit card anywhere except a bank branch ATM can expose one to a skimmer and getting your account drained. The other problem is debit gives no rewards. A good credit card like Amex or Chase gives enough rewards to get free or discounted travel. I have also heard American CC gives better rewards than a Philippine CC.