Need a bank recomendation.

[RBM]

I used Union for the SRRV and was satisfied.

[Tommy T.]

Just realize - as at least the case with PNB (who I am very pleased with for all services, including SRRV) - that when you open account(s), they are treated as if in their own bank. What I mean to say is that you can open an account in a PNB branch, but you cannot access anything from that account from any other branch. For me, I always have to go to the same branch for any services, including receiving wire transfers, withdrawals or anything else. Perhaps other banks are different? This has not been a big hassle for me, except that now I live fairly far away from the original branch.... so now it is not so convenient. But I always had good service at this branch.
 

Before, I had accounts in a different branch and the customer service there was terrible - same bank, different branch. I needed to close accounts at that branch, then open new ones at the different branch - no transferring of accounts or funds was possible.... But this was over five years ago - hopefully things have changed for the better?
 

And I would not open an account or transfer money without having a contact person and phone number to confirm everything..... That's just me being super cautious...

Edited April 9, 2023 by Tommy T.

[Eddie1]

20 hours ago, longway said:

Thanks for any advice you might have for me.

Longway,  If you are going to stay long enough in the Phils to consider investing in an SRRVisa, why not just come on a Tourist Visa and do the SRRVisa in person when you are here.  After the first 2 months on a tourist visa you can get a 6 month extension which will be ample time for you to process your SRRVisa application.  That way you will be able to do due diligence on which bank from the list that best fits your needs in the area that you are living in. 

[mountainside]

1 hour ago, Eddie1 said:

Longway,  If you are going to stay long enough in the Phils to consider investing in an SRRVisa, why not just come on a Tourist Visa and do the SRRVisa in person when you are here.

That's how I'll do my second SRRV, if I go the SRRV route again.

[Freebie]

Mine was done with Bank of Commerce. The agent that handled mine, submitted a letter of intro to manager at Bank of Commerce and account was opening in 10 minutes with a passbook. I made a  test transfer of US10 that showed up a day later in my updated passbook so I knew I was good to go .

[hk blues]

2 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Just realize - as at least the case with PNB (who I am very pleased with for all services, including SRRV) - that when you open account(s), they are treated as if in their own bank. What I mean to say is that you can open an account in a PNB branch, but you cannot access anything from that account from any other branch. For me, I always have to go to the same branch for any services, including receiving wire transfers, withdrawals or anything else. Perhaps other banks are different? This has not been a big hassle for me, except that now I live fairly far away from the original branch.... so now it is not so convenient. But I always had good service at this branch.
 

Before, I had accounts in a different branch and the customer service there was terrible - same bank, different branch. I needed to close accounts at that branch, then open new ones at the different branch - no transferring of accounts or funds was possible.... But this was over five years ago - hopefully things have changed for the better?
 

And I would not open an account or transfer money without having a contact person and phone number to confirm everything..... That's just me being super cautious...

My wife was able to transfer her account balance from BPI in Hong Kong to a local BPI here with no problem.  However, she wasn't able to transfer the account itself or close the Hing Kong account from here. Before that, she was able to freely withdraw money from that account both in branch and at ATMs. Significant amounts as well.

When I tried to withdraw 20k php from a different local branch of Metrobank than my own branch it took a phone call to make it happen. I was also able to pick up a new card from a different local branch than my own with just a phone call. 

So, it seems it can be done but perhaps banks are less than enthusiastic to encourage it.

As for the last para...in an ideal world yes, but kinda hard when you're sitting in the USA!

[hk blues]

2 minutes ago, Freebie said:

Mine was done with Bank of Commerce. The agent that handled mine, submitted a letter of intro to manager at Bank of Commerce and account was opening in 10 minutes with a passbook. I made a  test transfer of US10 that showed up a day later in my updated passbook so I knew I was good to go .

Great suggestion ref. test transfer. As I said in my post above  it's not always viable to apply ideal world thinking. 

[mountainside]

10 minutes ago, Freebie said:

account was opening in 10 minutes with a passbook

The passbook account was in addition to (and separate from) your SRRV deposit account?  Without any further ID/triple signature paperwork?  

[Freebie]

5 hours ago, mountainside said:

The passbook account was in addition to (and separate from) your SRRV deposit account?  Without any further ID/triple signature paperwork?  

There was certainly paperwork. this is the Philippines and probably lots of paperwork. The passbook came after the paperwork. As I recall ( 5 yrars back ) I deposited the money into Bank of commerce, it showed up in the passbook, and was then transferred to SRRV , and I needed to show the paperwork to SRRV as part of the visa application. The passbook I believe just contains the test transfer I had initially made .

[longway]

On 4/8/2023 at 9:57 PM, Eddie1 said:

Longway,  If you are going to stay long enough in the Phils to consider investing in an SRRVisa, why not just come on a Tourist Visa and do the SRRVisa in person when you are here.  After the first 2 months on a tourist visa you can get a 6 month extension which will be ample time for you to process your SRRVisa application.  That way you will be able to do due diligence on which bank from the list that best fits your needs in the area that you are living in. 

There were a couple of documents I had to get Appostilled in my home country so I did that. Then I found out that wiring the money internationally would be problematic without being here on the sending end to be sure it is done properly so it's accepted and not kicked back or lost in a black hole. My primary banking entity (a credit Union)  will not do international wires so I will have to use someone else, not a big problem except it is something else to do. I did pick a PRA bank, BDO, they are in the right place and on the list. All of them have pros and cons so I just threw a dart. For other banking business I can shop around and choose anyone. Still a work in progress.... Thanks for all the feedback, lots to learn....