Opening up a bank account in the Philippines as an expat is a subject often gone unaddressed. That said, we hope this video helped you put together another piece of the puzzle when making your move to the Philippines. God bless.
I wish I could give you two thumbs up on this one. The information on Citibank and the Philippine banks is priceless for an expat in the planning stage.
Thanks for info that I haven't seen on RU-vid. As a permanent resident married to a Filipina I would confirm that I had to present the ACR card and passport as well as marriage certificate for joint account.
Citibank is closing its consumer banking in the Philippines and selling to UnionBank by end of this year. Not sure how that affects current customers, but it is something you should mention especially for anyone planning on opening an account.
Thanks for that addition. I was just considering closing my BoA account and opening one at Citi. Now I wont bother since it would be unsure how transfers and stuff will be affected. Ill stick with the plan of BoA to BDO once we move to the Philippines.
FYI I just was looking at Metrobank's website for the PH. They state the following for foreigners. They state: Can I open an account? Yes. All you need to do is to visit any nearest Metrobank branch, bring your passport or Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR), and the initial deposit requirement. If you are a US Citizen you have to fill out a few forms which are also on the site.
Thank You kindly for providing me with this extremely useful "How to Open a Philippine Bank Account" and what documents will be needed. Brilliant! I am planning to visit the Philippines for my first ever visit and now i know i must stay more than 59 days to get an ACR CARD to open a bank account so i can make International Bank money transfers from the UK to a Philippine Bank Account. Q. How long on avg will it take to actually receiving an ACR CARD to take to one or more Philippine Banks? I intend to come and live permanently somewhere? In the Philippines after my first visit to try and find land to lease or buy long term 25 to 30 yrs or buy land? and a property to buy or build? 😅❤
This is the kind of practical information which is very useful. It is good that there are reasonable banking solutions for ex-pats in the Philippines. In some countries, there are none. Having reliable banks makes things a lot easier and safer for foreigners.
A possible area of concern. I have read the Citi has sold their Philippine banking operations to Union Bank. Does that effect the information about Citibank in the Philippines?
Good morning Evan ! Great vlog! As most expats wisley leave funds in their home country , & have their pensions deposited , it would be interesting to & informative to find the best ways to transfer funds without the exorbitant fees or utilising for example " remitly" money transfer !!! Cheers
Evan is it possible to try and find a British You Tuber or yourself who could make a similar "Opening a new bank account or several Philippine bank accounts for savings, International regular foreign money transfers for ones monthly pensions from the UK to the Philippines and again the names of Banks in the Philippines that do not charge ATM withdrawal Fees all over the Philippines especially on islands like Palawan, Botacay, Bohol/Pangaleo, Siqijor and on Cebu Island? Please. I have nothing against my American friends but 99% of vlogs on the internet are from Americans and the content may be different than if one lived in the UK with UK Bank accounts. Thanks Evan this is definately one of the most important and valueable videos i have had the pleasure to watch even if it was made 2 years ago. Maybe an update is warranted. You have a nice day. I am working my way through your 15 things plan in the Philippines first visit.
Hmmmm. I think I would just stick to my US based Charles Schwab checking account. They refund all the ATM fees worldwide and have the best exchange rate.
Good info. I didn't know about the transfer between banks that Citibank has. I also like wise. It's not a bank but you can have currency in your account to use with your visa card. This saves you from changing currencies when traveling. They give you the best rate when the do the exchange for your transactions. You can also send to your bank internationally. The transfer fees are minimal and they give you a very good exchange rate. It's what I use to send to my bank in the PH What's nice about wise is you can hold and or spend multiple different currencies. Thier fees are better than Remitly.
hi, do you mean you can use your current citibank visa card to withdraw money from a Wise atm machine in Philippines? When you open a Wise account, do they issue a card? how do you deposit money in Wise? Thanks!
@@newtonlee10 go and read wise. Apply for the card. I don't think there is any fee to get it. I'm not sure how much monthly withdrawal is allowed before fees at ATM. I'm saying I use wise to transfer money from USA to the bank there. Also you can use the wise card to shop and or eat out without paying any fees and the money transfer fees/ rates are very close to those you would get going to the better money exchanges while traveling. So say you have connecting flights and you eat at the airport. No need to worry about going to exchange money as you will already get a great exchange just using the card. Also you have the ability to hold multiple currencies in the card for trips. It's very nice. Also you could check out Charles Schwab. Thier bank accounts give you an ATM card that you pay no fees. In other words your reimbursed all fees from any ATM around the world. However, I don't know how good the exchange rate is and also should you get a retirement visa they will close your Schwab account. As long as your a tourist and not resident you can have the Schwab account. I set mine up online. They require you to have broker account and bank account. I just don't use the broker account for anything. Ok. I hope this helps you out.
i heard about that for western union....however, if you send money to yourself, do you have to pick it up within a certain period? will they send the money back to your foreign account after that period?
There's also Remitly, LBC and Xoom. Lots of options for pick up locations (including Cebuana) and they can deliver the money to your place of residence. I find the fee for Western Union a bit more expensive.
Great video. Very helpful. As a future video idea, it might be good to cover how mail works in the Philippines since so many people shop online. Is Amazon and eBay an option for expats? Are there import taxes when shipping from out of the country? Are there cost effective delivery options? How reliable is the system?
No mention in the video of how to do this without an ACR card or if you ACR card has "tourist" written on it instead of "resident". I have been coming here since 2009 and, even with an ACR card I have not been able to open a bank acc which is silly.
Thanks for more information Savvy. I managed to open accounts both savings and checking with HSBC ,BPI , BDO,Metrobank ,PNB & coconut bank just with my Passport and Utility bills. All were Peso Accts except HSBC both peso & USD . Probably those days early 2000s it's much easier I doubt now they will entertain me without those full documents as u have mentioned . Maybe it was d big amounts initially, coz I was into international trading . Cheers 👍🏼♥️
@Pat L: yes, those were the days. In 2005, it took me 10 minutes to open a checking and savings account at the bank with only my passport. Today, I was told that if you are a U.S. Citizen, there is also a document that goes to the IRS. Thank God I didn't need to require this back then.
Happy to see you a can my friend. So I need to be there to open up account. The cintbank could I open it up here in the USA. And have it transferred to the same bank over there
I realize this is an older video but I wanted to add a bit of info that I have experienced 1st hand. While there is a lot of great info on this video, be aware that if your ACR card says TOURIST on it, most banks won’t have anything to do with you! This has been my experience… I welcome any constructive advice.
big Dog Citi Bank ATMs are hard to find they don't make it to the top 10 most ATMS in the Philippines BDO takes that spot so I have a CITI Bank card for my large with draws and will get a BDO for quick accessibility when I'm out shopping
HSBC to me , was d beat bank then . Very efficient , convenient and treated every customer @personally ,well , professionally . A lot of extra features too...as per ur video I find BPI d best those days . As early as 2001/2002 they already have online digital signature for checking accts. I was able to cash their house cheques issued by my distributors @vice versa , anywhere in any BPI Banks unlike many other Banks whereby u need to cash it in d same issuing bank only . That's was d plus factor . Anyway , this new era technology r far superior so no such issues anymore , I believe .
Great Video, as always. I didn't expect that we need an ACR to open a bank account there. Doesn't it mean that we can only open an account after staying there at least 2 months then? But how is that supposed to work out if we have to prepare a deposit in a philippine bank account to apply for SRRV? All the foreign documents required for SRRV must not be older than 6 months, so in fact foreigner should apply for one as soon as they arrived in the philippine before the time limit is up. Otherwise we must start the process all over again, from across the ocean... This is worrying somehow now 🥺.
As a follow up question, are there “non bank” safe deposit companies in the Philippines (those would be located in BGC or Makati, where the money is). If they exist, can foreigners open accounts with those? What documentation is needed to do that? Places like Dubai and Singapore have them. Those things are popular with gold bugs (those locations are gold big magnets).
Hello. Greatly enjoy your vlog. I mention Charles Schwab as a good international bank only as as another choice. Also, I recall an earlier vlog regarding deposits necessary for retirement visa in Philippines. I don't recall what the cost would be for a veteran. I have heard $1500.00. Is this a fact? Again. Your vlogs are a great source of Info. Hope to meet you sometime. 16 days until I arrive. ✌
Yes, the Charles Schwab checking account reimburses for all ATM fees - including at international ATMs. So, for American ex pats, that’s a good option. I just acquired an SRRV, using the $20,000 deposit option. Additional fees were $1,700. Yes, as a veteran, your deposit would be $1,500, plus additional fees of $1,700 - in my understanding. So, if you will be living here in Philippines, I definitely would avail myself of this option if I were you. But be prepared to have to go through a number of bureaucratic hoops to obtain your SRRV, which will take time. As with many things here in the Philippines, definitely bring your patience. 😊
Im an ex pilipino.......I dont have proof of address or ACR card .. is there any other way to apply for a philippine bank account? i can only show passport
If you have a SRRV and want to travel continuedly, obviously you would need a PH bank account, incase you lose or the ATM took your card etc. Also as you will not have a permanent address, and would not want letters going to an ex-address. Do any on-line banks allow this, so you use their card wherever you lay your hat?
I've been researching this subject for a while! Here is what I consider best bet for expats, IMHO. Forget opening account in Philippines (Citi, Wells Fargo or BOA) I found PNB branches in Miami ( NY/LA). Open account in USA on these branches if possible. Zero head aches/charges to move funds to PNB from any USA bank ( if different from PNB). PNB will give you atm card that you can use when going back to pinas...
Hi there! First off, thanks so much for making this video - really helpful!! I do have a question as I am planning on opening a bank account in Manila next week. We are about to rent out a property in the Philippines and I am looking up ways on how to receive the rental payments without incurring a lot of fees. Based on your video, it looks like Citibank is my best choice since I live in the US. I also have dual citizenship (American and Filipino) so hopefully that will eliminate some of the docs needed (ACR card for example) to open up an account. Anyhow, do you know if Citibank is the best one to have to collect rental payments from the Philippines? Thank you so much!!
I tried Charles Schwab ...terrible customer service. I transfer funds for 6 yrs now with WISE to Thailand ...never a problem and they are one of the least expensive
Evan, great segment today. very sagacious in terms of choices. This allows me to plan out a stratagem based on the info at hand, weighing in on options in helping develop a contingency plan if the initial attempt does not pan out with an institution pros and cons. Thank you!
Thank you for this info......I live in Las Vegas,Nevada, and my question is about "Citibank",could you open up a checking account here in the United States and use it in the Philippines or would you have to do it at a Citibank in the Philippines? Also when I'm in the Philippines I also see "ChinaBank",you didn't mention that one. Thank you again👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I think "technically" they are completely different entities, but owned by the same parent company. If you go outside of the bigger cities or in the province, finding a CITI bank is impossible.
Thanks for this extremely useful information for myself and other. I am not an American i presently live in Scotland but i am planning to relocate permanently to live in the Philippines and i will contact Heidi and yourself for all future Immigration Visa info and setting up several bank accoints in the Philippines. I will be transferring a large sum of money inter bank foreign money transfers. The UK Government and my ex private employer pensions money i will also have to set up regular inter bank transfers every month, or every 3 to 6 months to new Philippines banks with banks with the lowest banking fees and their own ATM withdrawal fees within the Philippines. Also i will look for a good savings interest rate for deposit of 1-20 million Pesos. Plus 2 pensions monthly in GBP to PHP much higher exchange rates 70-72 PHP to £1 GBP. Kind Regards
What is the best bank for a safe deposit box? If ATM are occasionally spotty (i.e. run out of cash), and banks remain open (did they during the pandemic), then stashing some cash in on of those might be a safety net. Maybe I’m being too paranoid?
Thanks for the information. My HSBC bank has changed to Citizens bank; in California. I am not sure if that makes a difference. Anyway, thanks again. 👍
i also have the same, HSBC in California and now Citizen's Bank ... NO, you can not use your Citizen's Bank account through HSBC here in the Philippines ... Citizen's Bank bought out HSBC there in CA but in Asia, they're still HSBC and HSBC not related to Citizen's Bank here in the Philippines. I can not use my ATM card with HSBC anymore ... so i just opened an account with BDO instead ... try to open an account with CITIBANK there in the states with a debit card so when you're here in the Philippines, you can withdraw with CITIBANK here but of course you'll let them know that you're in the Philippines and will do the transaction here when you arrive here in the Philippines
Evan, what would be the best bank to go with IF an expat wanted to have their S.S. benefits directly deposited into a PH bank monthly? Let us know. Thks!
I am moving to the Philippines next month, how do you open a philippines bank account if you don't have a fixed residential address there? Because to get a rental you need a bank account right?
Do the banks operating in the Philippines have to deal with FATCA and require US citizens to fill many documents before opening a Philippines checking account for its new customers with US citizenships?
I don’t think I need a ACR card Witt BDO bank I hope I am right Some Phil banks are strict , some not Strict I hope not I hope only to stay in Phil for 5 months in Philippine in 2031
Mandatory they ask your i card and passport with permanent visa 13A to open an account BDO for expat. BPI ask the same documents. Cash advance ATM with a VISA credit débit card foreign bank is 10000 php max for each transaction and a fee 250 php + convertion rate 1.8%..
Hey Evan...I have heard stories of a period of non activity with an account and they slowly charge a service fee for this and it can add up and drain an account quickly. How does one go about finding out if this is true and what steps to avoid this happening?
The account gets drained if u have too less of an balance, like below 5k peso. If non activity accounts go into dormant and when u get back mostly just needs to get reactivation.
I would strongly recommend NOT using HSBC. I had a nightmare trying to transfer money from my HSBC account in HK to our PNB account in the Philippines, even after I went to the head office in Manila. They basically refused to do it. I ended up giving my ATM card to a friend who spent three months doing daily withdrawals from the cash machine and transferring it to me. HSBC is also in possession of my MPF (a mandatory pension fund in HK) which it will not pay out on because I no longer live in HK. I also had issues with HSBC when my wife and I were transferring money to pay for our house in the Philippines when they repeatedly messed up with transfers even though they had explicit standing order instructions. Now we are settled in the Philippines, we have a joint PNB peso account and I have a USD account with PNB. No problems.
incomplete or no transparency or lack of facts?? citibank has a monthly service fees-$5 Access Checking Monthly Service Fee and $15 Regular Checking Monthly Service Fee waived for 3 months after account opening or with a Relationship Tier or $250+ in Enhanced Direct Deposits1. Charles scwab is the way to go, nothing to pay
