WESTERN UNION IS CHEAPEST WAY TO SEND TO PHILIPPINES The cheapest way to send money to a Philippine bank account (and to bank accounts in around 33 other countries) is via Western Union. This only applies for payments to Bank accounts in those countries and not for any other service offered by Western Union (where huge fees apply) There are no fees whatsoever for either the sender or recipient. Western Union makes its money on the very small difference between its exchange rate and the normal interbank rate. In fact, if you pay by debit/credit card the exchange rates beat those of World Remit. But be wary of using a credit card as your credit card company may view payments to WU as a cash withdrawal and you could be charged fees by them. So, the best advice is to pay by debit card to avoid cards fees and obtain the best exchange rate (if you pay direct from your bank account the exchange rate is not quite as good) It does take 1-2 days to reach the Philippine Bank account and there is a warning on the WU website that it may take longer for larger amounts and a few other reasons. There is also an indication that this service is 'limited'. Whether that means limited in time or just limited to the 34 countries currently included in the offer is unsure. World Remit's cash service is still cheaper than WU's cash service but World Remit charges the same fees no matter the method of delivery, be that cash, bank account or mobile phone. So, only make use of WU for deposits into bank accounts and only when its fees are zero (or at least lower than World Remit) For on-line transactions, the most you can send is £4,000 in any one transaction, that is the same limit as for cash pick-up. In order to send money to a Philippine bank account you just need to know the name of the Philippine Bank and the account number. There appears to be no equivalent of a Sort Code in the Philippines. Thanks to Maharg who first hinted at this on a World Remit Thread
I agree but can't help thinking that it will come to an end sometime, it is not in Western Union's (WU) nature to not charge, I wonder why they are doing it? Also as you point out they say the service is limited, maybe time limited, maybe not, last month they charged me a fee, this month no fee's, will see where it goes next month. I have switched 80 percent of what I send to WU, might switch 100% to WU but sometimes I need to have cash there quickly and this service is not instant, occasionally I need instant. They still charge high fee's to many other countries and at the moment I am exposed to those fees too and without an alternative as there appears to be no other easy means to send to South Korea.
How about Moneygram?? did you ever try that one guys??.. It took only 1 day arrive in my bank. But still it charged him because he used his credit card like westernunion.....
Wow, at last someone rated one of my posts Dumb I wonder why? For information, the mother of my Filipino children is currently living and working in South Korea, I use Western Union to help her occasionally. Right now to support my family in the Philippines I am using Western Union because 'just now' they charge no fees, I do not believe that will stay that way forever but I could be wrong.
My fiancée has a Union Bank e-pay card. Her salary gets credited to that card and she has a unique account number on the card (12 digit number at the bottom of the card - not the 16 digit VISA number across the middle. I think money can be credited direct to that 12 digit account number via Western Union. This will be far more convenient for my fiancée as she will not have to withdraw largish amounts and then credit her account with them. She can just draw cash on her e-pay card as she normally does. So, not only the cheapest way to send money but the most convenient too. Just have to bear in mind that transfers are not immediate - they take a day or two; that is really the only downside. When I visit Philippines at Xmas I will put the holiday spending money on my fiancée's e-pay card. This will also save money even though my UK debit card has no fees, but it still has ATM fees charged by whatever Philippine bank maintains the ATM machine. Also, by using my fiancée's debit card there can be no temptation by the seller to use their own exchange rates on any debit card sale. It really is a win win situation.
We've used Unionbank for the last six years, the online account management is good, nowhere near UK good but it is acceptable, I can pay the electric, water, phone bill and rent from that account over the internet. Sounds like the ePAY card is almost identical to the EON card (not checked the fee's yet) EON was a good deal particularly with the Paypal link, EON lets you link Paypal to the account and after that it is easy to move funds out from Paypal to most Philippine banks.
I'm looking into alternative money transferring options.. this is for when I'm visiting my fiancee in pills. . Before I used to xfer myself money through worldremit and pick up at local cebuna lhullier.. I'm sure earlier this year I could send maximum £700+ for a fee of around 4.99 but this time it's asking for 6.99.. but this time since I'm getting married I'm looking to xfer quite a bit of money but these charges don't take long in mounting up... So my question is to OP Howard who do you bank with in the UK as I'm not sure my bank in Scotland offers to send money to phills..
Stuff your sporran with £50 notes before you fly, then find a decent money changer in the Philippines.
If you use your regular UK current account to send money it costs around £25 (regardless of amount), at least it did using NatWest, its easy and reliable of course but a little pricy.
I agree Dave, bank notes talk in the Philippines, Filipinos always know where to change their foreign currency for the best rates.
Actually has anyone here ever changed a £50 over there? I was always nervous to take 50's as 50 quid notes are quite rare now and I was not sure they would think they were real over there, hence never taken a 50 pound note overseas.
I've taken £50 notes and had them changed there, they were crisp new ones though, I know in the Philippines and other countries they wont change grubby and tattered notes. I always tell the missus to count the money out in front of the cashier and to put the Queens head around the right way on all the notes?
I prefer £50 notes as they are easier to carry and tend to be in better condition than the lower denomination notes, I have changed them in Manila and Tacloban without any problem. Even with cash you need to ensure you are getting a decent rate.
I've been taking cash for 10 years and know which of our local money changers give a proper rate, if forced to I will use SM but they are always a peso off everyone else which is a lot when you are talking about under 70 peso to the pound. I always filter my notes before I go cleaning out everything that has been written on or torn or that is just plain stinkin
