Chase Bank

[MikeeW]

Why did you choose to have a peso passbook account? Since the deposit will be made in pesos, you are at the mercy of the bank's exchange rate. Rather, if your account is a dollar account, then the dollars are placed into the account and you can withdraw them at your convenience and either let the bank make an exchange to pesos or get dollars and use a money changer.

Metrobank does force the customer to stick to transactions at one branch. You can have multiple accounts at multiple branches, but typically, the customer uses a single branch for all business. This is a source of complaints from many as the Metrobank policy makes it difficult to go to a branch not your own and conduct business. It can be done, but may involve phone calls and faxes etc.

I am pretty sure that you can change any allotment to a different branch. What is also a possibility is to have your pension sent by direct deposit to a bank of your choice and have an allotment from the pension going to Metrobank in NYC. This is not possible with social security, but many pensions allow allotments.

If possible, I suggest avoiding the USA American citizens services (ACS) handling the allotment or direct deposit forms. Some banks will process the forms through the embassy and that is just one more layer of bureaucracy which can make an error. It does happen.

[OnMyWay]

Rather, if your account is a dollar account, then the dollars are placed into the account and you can withdraw them at your convenience and either let the bank make an exchange to pesos or get dollars and use a money changer.

 

I agree 100%.  Use a dollar account and then the exchange rate is controlled by you, not the bank.

[Dave Hounddriver]

The only thing is I had to choose only one metro bank as my main branch in Cebu where I HAVE to go to get my money. But there's no fees involved.

 

You will hate that part but many do it.  Americans I know go to their bank to get out US cash and then take it to the people paying the best rate.  Some I know have managed to change to a different branch of Metro when they move (as most do eventually) and there are branches of MetroBank everywhere.  So its not the worst you could have done.

 

As others have said, it would be so nice if they would just give you an ATM card but in certain pension cheque cases they will not AND if they did it I don't think you can take out American dollars so you would be stuck with whatever rate the bank give you.

 

In short, you did good.

[MikeeW]

Btw, Metrobank offers various online management methods for accounts. It can end up being a bit tricky, but if you have a pension account, it will likely be in your name alone. Not shared with another person. However, if you can get the online systems set up correctly, you can make online transfers to an account your wife can access. In effect, you can move money between accounts, some of which may have ATM access.

Personally, I stay away from online banking except for basics Ike getting allotments to accounts.

[anthonytt]

On my way back to Metrobank N.Y.

Just got off the phone with them. They didn't send anything yet and she's letting me stop the account , so I'm going to pick up my $.

Thanks Onmyway because I'm going to keep my chase checking account in New York open a dollar account at BPI and just write myself a check every month from my chase us account wait for it to clear in my BPI dollar account then withdraw as needed. Does anyone know if I need to bring a letter or something from my chase bank to the Philippines to open the dollar account BPI ? Thanks

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[MikeB]

Metrobank does force the customer to stick to transactions at one branch.

They probably justify it as following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' policy of "Know Your Customer" (KYC). Ironic that they were one of the 2 banks where Mrs Napoles was able to make p75 million single withdrawals without raising any flags. They (and Landbank) are currently under investigation. Is there an entity in this country that isn't "under investigation"?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/493491/bsp-probes-banks-that-failed-to-report-napoles-questionable-transactions

[earthdome]

On my way back to Metrobank N.Y.

Just got off the phone with them. They didn't send anything yet and she's letting me stop the account , so I'm going to pick up my $.

Thanks Onmyway because I'm going to keep my chase checking account in New York open a dollar account at BPI and just write myself a check every month from my chase us account wait for it to clear in my BPI dollar account then withdraw as needed. Does anyone know if I need to bring a letter or something from my chase bank to the Philippines to open the dollar account BPI ? Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I use a BPI USD and peso account. No letter is needed from your bank. I not only deposit checks I write to myself from my US bank, I have also deposited checks sent to me from others.

 

I was able to open the account within 4 days of arrival last Dec. I did have to go to immigration and get my first visa extension. BPI wanted to see the background check paperwork from immigration as part of opening the account. I needed that, my passport and 2 passport pictures. You will also need $500 cash to deposit in the account and an address in the Philippines. When I opened my account I also deposited a personal check written to myself from my US bank. I think I needed 3000 pesos to open the peso account. The account types I opened were ATM accounts. Make sure you bring enough cash or have access to getting enough cash to meet your needs for at least the first month or two you are here.

 

WIthin a few business days I was able to pick up and activate the ATM cards for both my USD and peso accounts and setup the online banking account. Within about 5 business days I was able to use the cash I had deposited. As others have said, when you deposit a check you have to wait 3-4 weeks before those funds are available to spend. It is very convenient with BPI to just watch the exchange rates and when they look good use your BPI online account to transfer funds from the USD account to the peso account. I also pay my Smart Teleco bills online from my BPI account.

 

As others have reported what you need to open an account may vary by BPI branch office.

 

One thing to note is that US financial laws require you to file an annual report with the IRS if you have financial assets outside of the US which in aggregate total more than $10,000 at any one time. So I try to ensure I always keep the total of all my Philippine bank accounts below that.

[OnMyWay]

Does anyone know if I need to bring a letter or something from my chase bank to the Philippines to open the dollar account BPI ? Thanks

 

No letter.  From memory, to open your BPI dollar account you will need your passport, another id and $500. Make copies of your ids before you arrive.  Similar for the peso account but I don't recall the opening minimum.  Check the BPI website.

[earthdome]

 

Metrobank does force the customer to stick to transactions at one branch.

They probably justify it as following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' policy of "Know Your Customer" (KYC). Ironic that they were one of the 2 banks where Mrs Napoles was able to make p75 million single withdrawals without raising any flags. They (and Landbank) are currently under investigation. Is there an entity in this country that isn't "under investigation"?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/493491/bsp-probes-banks-that-failed-to-report-napoles-questionable-transactions

 

 

The Know Your Customer (KYC) rules come from US Anti Money Laundering (AML) laws which the US is able to impose on banks in most countries outside of the US.

[anthonytt]

On my way back to Metrobank N.Y.

Just got off the phone with them. They didn't send anything yet and she's letting me stop the account , so I'm going to pick up my $.

Thanks Onmyway because I'm going to keep my chase checking account in New York open a dollar account at BPI and just write myself a check every month from my chase us account wait for it to clear in my BPI dollar account then withdraw as needed. Does anyone know if I need to bring a letter or something from my chase bank to the Philippines to open the dollar account BPI ? Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I use a BPI USD and peso account. No letter is needed from your bank. I not only deposit checks I write to myself from my US bank, I have also deposited checks sent to me from others.

I was able to open the account within 4 days of arrival last Dec. I did have to go to immigration and get my first visa extension. BPI wanted to see the background check paperwork from immigration as part of opening the account. I needed that, my passport and 2 passport pictures. You will also need $500 cash to deposit in the account and an address in the Philippines. When I opened my account I also deposited a personal check written to myself from my US bank. I think I needed 3000 pesos to open the peso account. The account types I opened were ATM accounts. Make sure you bring enough cash or have access to getting enough cash to meet your needs for at least the first month or two you are here.

WIthin a few business days I was able to pick up and activate the ATM cards for both my USD and peso accounts and setup the online banking account. Within about 5 business days I was able to use the cash I had deposited. As others have said, when you deposit a check you have to wait 3-4 weeks before those funds are available to spend. It is very convenient with BPI to just watch the exchange rates and when they look good use your BPI online account to transfer funds from the USD account to the peso account. I also pay my Smart Teleco bills online from my BPI account.

As others have reported what you need to open an account may vary by BPI branch office.

One thing to note is that US financial laws require you to file an annual report with the IRS if you have financial assets outside of the US which in aggregate total more than $10,000 at any one time. So I try to ensure I always keep the total of all my Philippine bank accounts below that.

Thanks for the info...much appreciated