Exhange Rates Differ From City - City ?

[jock_in_a_frock]

Howdi all, i was just wondering after checking my bank online, i`ve been withdrawing from BDO in manila & here in Mindanao, now i know the exhange rates do vary slightly but in Manila i withdrew 10,000 peso with a charge of 200 peso, i notice from my bank account i was deducted -155 gbp, 2nd time i withdrew 10,000 was -157 gbp, but here in Mindanao when i withdrew 10,000 it shows -160gbp now were talking 5 quid here of a difference, the exchange rate cant drop by that much, the BDO ATM here in Mindanao also charges 200 peso. any ideas or am i missing something here ??

oh and whats the best least cost effective method for me to get my money without these charges ?

and for the record my bank charges for for each withdrawal also = 1.50 gbp

so im getting charged 4.50 gbp EACH time i withdraw MY money, mutlitply that by 10 it soon adds up :(

im thinking now maybe the BDO in Manila failed to charge me the 200 peso charge..

[Call me bubba]

was the withdrawal all on the same 24 hour time period?

it can .or is possible that it can vary by a small percentage during the course of the business day,

also when you take out X pesos at 1pm and check online 15min to hour later you will see one charge.

on my bank . I see 1 charge at time of take out, (its not the final charge) the next day I will see the TRUE AMOUNT i was charged which is the bank (the mastercard 1% fee) then taken out at final posting.

HAVE you considered another bank to withdrawal? HSBC? CITIBANK?

they allow much higher amounts to be taken out.

m thinking now maybe the BDO in Manila failed to charge me the 200 peso charge..

:hystery: :hystery: :hystery:

a chinese run (SY)bank failing to charge? thats possible but not in my life time.

YES exchange rates can vary from even the same banks(bdo-bdo-bdo) its what the market will allow

several times, I see that BDO has 1 rate, then into the SM store they have another rate (very cents difference) then visited another SM exchange they had a different rate than others. it was lower,

again it is what the market forces will allow in that area.

[jock_in_a_frock]

thx for your reply. i withdraw 10,000 at a time as thats all my bank in the UK allows within a 24hour period, i guess that answers q1 also,

i will try other banks here, another option what i`ve just thought of, would be to do a money xfer to myself would that work ?

say through worldremit, im sure they only charge 2.99gbp for money xfers, use them when helping out my other half, can pick up at either MLullier or Cebuano but do they charge anything at there end ? and hows the rates ?

thxx again for your reply Pittman !

[Thomas]

155 > 160 charge change isn't so very much in parts of percent, so it's possible the curency could have changed that.

An other possibility perhaps: I don't know which banks, I have just heared it have happened to some others, but some banks count head office and branch offices as different banks concerning transfer fees!!! =They can charge an extra transfer fee at ONE SAME withdraw, when you do it at a branch other than where you have your acount.

[OnMyWay]

another option what i`ve just thought of, would be to do a money xfer to myself would that work ?

I think you can do a transfer to yourself but most of the transfer services will hit you on the exchange rate. The cheapest I found to use in the U.S. is Xoom and they charge usd 4.99 + about 1 peso on the exchange. If you can find one that doesn't hit you too hard on the exchange rate then this method will probably be cheaper than the ATM, especially if the 2.99 fee allows you to send a lot more GBP. Usually you can find the rates on the website or some allow you to do a preview of the transfer to see the rate.

Be careful if you do a large transfer and pick it up in cash! If you a permanent in Phils you should open a local bank account and then transfer the money to the account, rather than one of those public places.

[Dave Hounddriver]

It has been my experience that 'main banks' in Philippines give their satellite bank a rate to use which is less than you would get from their main bank, but, if the amount is large enough you can ask them to phone their head office for their 'best rate' (must be done in person of course.)

Another option is to have your money in US dollars in a US $ account in a major bank. Then ask for US cash which you can take to a grey market exchanger. In large amounts the exchanger will come right to your bank and do it there. Has to be US $ as the banks do not maintain stocks of other currencies and will not 'bring them in' for you.

[i am bob]

thx for your reply. i withdraw 10,000 at a time as thats all my bank in the UK allows within a 24hour period, i guess that answers q1 also,

i will try other banks here, another option what i`ve just thought of, would be to do a money xfer to myself would that work ?

say through worldremit, im sure they only charge 2.99gbp for money xfers, use them when helping out my other half, can pick up at either MLullier or Cebuano but do they charge anything at there end ? and hows the rates ?

thxx again for your reply Pittman !

I've used WorldRemit here in Canada and was quite pleased with the results - they were very much more efficient and gave me a better exchange than the bank would at the time. Plus they are cheaper but the price depends on how much you are sending and how you are paying for it / receiving it. I normally pay using online banking (through InterAct using my bank debit card) and have my Special Someone pick up the cash at the other end. I also confirmed with them that, when in the Philippines, I can go online and send money to myself. There is a limit on how much you can send daily but you can always send the second amount the next day if need be and then collect it all at once. Self pickup is almost instant (once was less than 5 minutes and my SS had the cash in her hand during an emergency of my making) and the banks will take a bit of time but often is faster than the stated wait period. The only charge is what you pay on the sending end - the other end is paid by WR. I haven't tried it yet (as I don't send money often) but I am going to play with the different companies on the other end and see if the price changes any.

[jock_in_a_frock]

yup i think i will go for the worldremit option, the site gives the choice when in sending to show in gbp or peso, so i cud say i will send 10,000 peso it will then show how much that is in gbp including the sending charge, i will then be able to see if this is a better option than BDO ATM`s, i also send through debit card option Bob !

another option what i`ve just thought of, would be to do a money xfer to myself would that work ?

If you a permanent in Phils you should open a local bank account and then transfer the money to the account, rather than one of those public places.

only here on vacation so will not be able to open a bank account, going forward i think the best option will be to send my fiancee my " spending money through worldremit, pay the 1 off service charge and can just withdraw my money as i need it throught her bank account, providing she doesnt do a runner hehe !! xoom not available in UK well wasnt the last time i checked, used to use it before then it changed its policy,

Edited January 13, 2013 by jock_in_a_frock

[OnMyWay]

i think the best option will be to send my fiancee my " spending money through worldremit, pay the 1 off service charge and can just withdraw my money as i need it throught her bank account,

This is what I did and we have been sharing her BPI accounts. I'm finally going to get my own accounts opened this week.

[GregZ]

ATM rate diff: I just used BDO Manila, rate was .5 php / $us lower than their Cebu branches. I compare to the same published rate location upon each withdrawal.