Sending Money To Philippines

[RO_AH 1,614]

I used to go to one of our local LBC branches to send for years.

Good exchange rate - High Fee - Inconvenient (have to go to the branch)

 

Through advice from several members here I switched to Remitly.

 Not the greatest exchange rate - No fee if bank account to bank account- Convenient (app is very user friendly and their customer support is great)

 

In June 2020 (also from advice from members here) I started using Western Union.

Good exchange rate (usually about 1 peso higher than Remitly) - No fee if bank account to bank account -  Convenient (app is not as easy as Remitly but works fine)

 

Both Remitly and WU take about a week for the no fee acct > acct transfer however after about 4 months of transferring through WU the speed has changed. My last 6 (or more) transactions have all been in her bank account next day.

 

I send about every 2 weeks and at least 1k USD a month, so in 6 months my wife gets over 6k more pesos now that I use WU. To me that adds up and I am happy I switched. As a bonus Remitly noticed I had stopped using them and added 20USD to my account free for my next transfer, so I sent 100USD to mu wife with Remitly to take advantage of that 🙂

 

I just wanted to share in case anyone was interested.

[Adventine 3,187]

Transferwise and Xoom are also good options. I received the funds in 1-2 days.

[RO_AH 1,614]

57 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Transferwise and Xoom are also good options. I received the funds in 1-2 days.

I used Xoom in the past and will never use them again. Terrible customer service if there is a problem. How are Transferwise exchange rates and fees?

[Adventine 3,187]

1 hour ago, RO_AH said:

I used Xoom in the past and will never use them again. Terrible customer service if there is a problem. How are Transferwise exchange rates and fees?

That's a shame, all my Xoom transactions have been hassle-free so far, so I never had to deal with their customer service.

 

I don't recall the exact Transferwise details but recall that my relatives compared it to Remitly, and chose Transferwise instead. I've been mostly on the receiving end of the transfers, so not sure about the fees. Your mileage may vary.

[RO_AH 1,614]

33 minutes ago, Adventine said:

That's a shame, all my Xoom transactions have been hassle-free so far, so I never had to deal with their customer service.

 

I don't recall the exact Transferwise details but recall that my relatives compared it to Remitly, and chose Transferwise instead. I've been mostly on the receiving end of the transfers, so not sure about the fees. Your mileage may vary.

I am totally happy with WU my goal was just to share my experiences and maybe help others. I know a lot of people here use Remitly and other methods. I just wanted to the pro's and con's I have experienced with each 🙂

[Adventine 3,187]

4 minutes ago, RO_AH said:

I am totally happy with WU my goal was just to share my experiences and maybe help others. I know a lot of people here use Remitly and other methods. I just wanted to the pro's and con's I have experienced with each 🙂

You're right, always useful to know the various options available

[seekingthetruth 1,218]

4 hours ago, RO_AH said:

I used Xoom in the past and will never use them again. Terrible customer service if there is a problem. How are Transferwise exchange rates and fees?

I used to use Zoom a long time ago and they were the best deal in 2012 or so.  Sometime later they were bought by Paypal and it seemed to be all downhill after that.

 

Transferwise was what a lot of expats were using the past few years.  I track exchange rates fairly closely and last April I did a comparison of the major services, but for bank to bank only.  Moneygram had a fantastic rate with almost no fees back then, but some people have a hard time getting their phone app to work, which is required. 

 

Initially in my analysis, I did not include Western Union, because I had a bad taste from high fee experiences years ago when I lived in Germany.  However, someone told me that they finally saw the writing on the wall and with a lot more competition, they are now competitive.  I also read that they are waving fees during Covid 19, but that was a while back.

 

The top three in my April analysis were Transferwise, World Remit and Western Union.  That was ranked on the net amount you get in pesos on a $2000 bank to bank transfer.  Moneygram would have been the winner, but I couldn't even get signed up.  The big losers were Xoom and Remitly.  Very expensive!

[Allovertheworld 355]

3 hours ago, RO_AH said:

I am totally happy with WU my goal was just to share my experiences and maybe help others. I know a lot of people here use Remitly and other methods. I just wanted to the pro's and con's I have experienced with each 🙂

Best thing about Western Union is can do it and they have no ties to your bank or a credit card.  

 

You can give any name as the sender and just send cash to the receiver.

[Milmauka 80]

@RO_AH  Yes, we have chatted about this before.  I still find WU better on the exchange rate than Remitly.  However, my last 2 months of sending money have been a nightmare.  Maybe it is because I was just too spoiled with the instantaneous transfers I have been getting before 2 months ago.  Now it takes like 7 business days for the money to be deposited into the Philippines account.  Frustrating, WU says it is because the PI bank is doing security checks.  Who knows for sure.  Anyways, I still will use WU because of the better exchange rate.  I just need to start the transfer earlier and allow for 7 days transaction.

[Allovertheworld 355]

I chatted and courted my fiance for about one year, I only sent her $40 one time during the who dating scene.

 

I did send money for the K1 process intervew

 

Thankfully I never had to deal with sending money all the time to Philppines.

[Milmauka 80]

Well, financial assistance was not necessary until Covid hit.  Prior to Covid, monthly allowance was not necessary, but stuff happens and you adjust.  

[RO_AH 1,614]

44 minutes ago, Milmauka said:

Well, financial assistance was not necessary until Covid hit.  Prior to Covid, monthly allowance was not necessary, but stuff happens and you adjust.  

Well since my wife and 2 children are there I obviously support them.

[NoMansLand2020 298]

On 1/16/2021 at 11:22 PM, Adventine said:

Transferwise and Xoom are also good options. I received the funds in 1-2 days.

1-2 days? What a joke. Too slow. I use WorldRemit and it's in my fiancée's bank account within a few minutes. She also has the option of picking up cash or I can send her GCash and even load for the phone. 

[Will&Christine 51]

23 minutes ago, NoMansLand2020 said:

1-2 days? What a joke. Too slow. I use WorldRemit and it's in my fiancée's bank account within a few minutes. She also has the option of picking up cash or I can send her GCash and even load for the phone. 

Same here. Worldremit is great for quick transfer.

[MarryMe987654 241]

I use WU bank-to-bank with no fee. Money available in my BPI account within the hour.

It took 6 days in the beginning but I guess because I am doing the same transaction for the same account, there's less verification issues.