Dollar Acct Question.

[RBM]

15 minutes ago, robert k said:

This is for the standard no interest bearing dollar account? If it earns interest then you become liable for taxes. I would much rather avoid tax headaches than earn 100 php a year interest.

Have you tried only with BPI? Even BPI with a different person on a different day might give you a different answer. It goes with the territory.

Does it absolutely have to be BPI?

So true and we experienced exactly this. After some hassles we left, returned following  day went smooth as silk. BPI.

[robert k]

58 minutes ago, russellmania said:

Wells Fargo Express send is 5 bucks up to $2999.00 to BPI Philippines. I need to get $25k there in sept to purchase a vehicle. Im bringing $10k on my flight to Cebu. My girl has BPI and I will send a portion to her acct, plus BPI is very popular with Expats. BPI is very close to my house,so those are a few reason for me to go with BPI.

Last I checked I could send $2,999 for $2.99 to a bank, agent location with WU, they say up to 24 hours but I usually got the e-mail to pick it up in 15 minutes or less, 30 minutes at the outside. Finding someplace that has that much USD on hand would be a problem, they might send it instantly but you wouldn't pick it up until the bank ordered that much USD.

I will be in the same boat as you, I will be buying a new vehicle and need a about 20k USD, plus a little more for add ons, display monitor and dvr dashcam but it won't bother me if it takes a week to get the money. 

I think it might take a whole day because I would have to explain to WU that it really is me and that no fraud was in progress but I bet it would only take a day.

Western Union claims instant bank to bank transactions also. Same price.

It's funny that a third party can accomplish what the original two banks can't?

Edited August 27, 2016 by robert k

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, russellmania said:

I applied for the USD $ acct a few days before I returned to the USA, so the bank clerk told me it will take a few days to approve the acct. Before I left his cubicle he asked me to also bring a document from my bank stating something, but my memory fails me and I cant remember what he requested I bring back to him. Does anyone recall what document is needed from their US Bank acct to show BPI bank rep?

He may be asking for the bank routing number or SWIFT code so that you can transfer money.

[earthdome]

10 hours ago, robert k said:

This is for the standard no interest bearing dollar account? If it earns interest then you become liable for taxes. I would much rather avoid tax headaches than earn 100 php a year interest.

Have you tried only with BPI? Even BPI with a different person on a different day might give you a different answer. It goes with the territory.

Does it absolutely have to be BPI?

The interest rate at BPI is much better than what you get at US banks. The banks automatically remove taxes required by the Philippines so you don't have to do anything regarding Philippines taxes. For US taxes treat it like any other bank account and report the interest income earned on the appropriate line of your taxes.

[earthdome]

9 hours ago, robert k said:

Last I checked I could send $2,999 for $2.99 to a bank, agent location with WU, they say up to 24 hours but I usually got the e-mail to pick it up in 15 minutes or less, 30 minutes at the outside. Finding someplace that has that much USD on hand would be a problem, they might send it instantly but you wouldn't pick it up until the bank ordered that much USD.

I will be in the same boat as you, I will be buying a new vehicle and need a about 20k USD, plus a little more for add ons, display monitor and dvr dashcam but it won't bother me if it takes a week to get the money. 

I think it might take a whole day because I would have to explain to WU that it really is me and that no fraud was in progress but I bet it would only take a day.

Western Union claims instant bank to bank transactions also. Same price.

It's funny that a third party can accomplish what the original two banks can't?

If you are willing to wait and transferring a large amount I would just deposit a check. Then there are no transfer fee's and you can get the absolutely best fx rate. On 20k USD you would lose about 1 php per USD transferred or 20,000 PHP if you use WU or some other remittance service due to their low FX rates.

[robert k]

4 hours ago, earthdome said:

If you are willing to wait and transferring a large amount I would just deposit a check. Then there are no transfer fee's and you can get the absolutely best fx rate. On 20k USD you would lose about 1 php per USD transferred or 20,000 PHP if you use WU or some other remittance service due to their low FX rates.

Actually I think your math is off. Easy way is to round up $3k sent cost $3 = 1/10 of one percent. 1 php per dollar would be well over 2 percent.

Writing the check is the best way to move large amounts of cash when you plan ahead and have plenty of time and I am sure I will use it in the future at times but my first experience with do so was not so satisfactory. I deposited my check with the bank and they charged me 100 php for depositing the check at PNB and 6 weeks later I went to the bank to make a withdrawal and the money was not there yet. I was so disgusted I closed my dollar and peso accounts. I will try Metrobank next time.

Edited August 27, 2016 by robert k

[earthdome]

57 minutes ago, robert k said:

Actually I think your math is off. Easy way is to round up $3k sent cost $3 = 1/10 of one percent. 1 php per dollar would be well over 2 percent.

Writing the check is the best way to move large amounts of cash when you plan ahead and have plenty of time and I am sure I will use it in the future at times but my first experience with do so was not so satisfactory. I deposited my check with the bank and they charged me 100 php for depositing the check at PNB and 6 weeks later I went to the bank to make a withdrawal and the money was not there yet. I was so disgusted I closed my dollar and peso accounts. I will try Metrobank next time.

Wow. That is a bad experience. I used BPI and never had any of those issues. 3 weeks for the check to become available and no fee's to deposit or withdraw.

My math is correct. Remittance companies like WU give you an FX rate more than 1 peso below mid market. At BPI I could get 1 peso more per USD on FX than you get when transferring with WU. So for 20k USD that is 20k pesos plus the transfer fee WU charges. Remittance companies make their money on the low FX rate not on the fee's.

[robert k]

54 minutes ago, earthdome said:

Wow. That is a bad experience. I used BPI and never had any of those issues. 3 weeks for the check to become available and no fee's to deposit or withdraw.

My math is correct. Remittance companies like WU give you an FX rate more than 1 peso below mid market. At BPI I could get 1 peso more per USD on FX than you get when transferring with WU. So for 20k USD that is 20k pesos plus the transfer fee WU charges. Remittance companies make their money on the low FX rate not on the fee's.

I'm sending dollars just like the OP, how will WU make money off the exchange rate if they are not changing dollars for pesos? 

The thread is about dollar accounts. Why would you send pesos to a dollar account? 

Edited August 27, 2016 by robert k

[earthdome]

16 minutes ago, robert k said:

I'm sending dollars just like the OP, how will WU make money off the exchange rate if they are not changing dollars for pesos? 

The thread is about dollar accounts. Why would you send pesos to a dollar account? 

Ahh. Ok. My mistake. Missed that somehow.

[earthdome]

On 8/26/2016 at 9:44 PM, robert k said:

Last I checked I could send $2,999 for $2.99 to a bank, agent location with WU, they say up to 24 hours but I usually got the e-mail to pick it up in 15 minutes or less, 30 minutes at the outside. Finding someplace that has that much USD on hand would be a problem, they might send it instantly but you wouldn't pick it up until the bank ordered that much USD.

I will be in the same boat as you, I will be buying a new vehicle and need a about 20k USD, plus a little more for add ons, display monitor and dvr dashcam but it won't bother me if it takes a week to get the money. 

I think it might take a whole day because I would have to explain to WU that it really is me and that no fraud was in progress but I bet it would only take a day.

Western Union claims instant bank to bank transactions also. Same price.

It's funny that a third party can accomplish what the original two banks can't?

One more comment on this. THE US requires reporting of financial transactions of $10,000 USD or greater. It isn't a crime to move $10,000 or more. You just need to report it. But... if you move more that $10,000 USD by breaking it up into smaller transactions, say you move $15,000 USD in 5 separate $3000 transactions over say 2 weeks that is considered a crime. It is called structuring. In other words you are structuring your movement of money to avoid reporting. There are many cases in the US where the IRS has seized bank accounts when this type of thing has occurred.

WU, banks and all other US financial institutions are required to register as a money transmitter and follow know your customer rules. They are required to report possible suspicious activity which the IRS would consider structuring.

 

Perhaps it would be better to move the money in one transaction using an international wire transfer.

 

Ohh... Don't forget you will need to file a report next year to the IRS if you at any time have more than $10,000 USD in aggregate outside the US.

 

Yeah, I know, this is all a huge PITA.