How Do I Send My Pension To The Philippines Each Month?

[Art2ro]

Anyway, this is a topic in how to get one's pension to a local bank in the Philippines and what I stated above works just fine for me until I can find a better way to transfer funds without having to write out checks each month! I have one option I'll be checking into while on vacation in California the end of this year to see if it's viable on-line where I can transfer money on-line from my U.S. bank to my dollar account here in the Philippines. I can only initiate it while in the U.S. for security reasons, because my U.S. bank can not send security pass codes over the internet or via air carrier while in the Philippines. Previously, 5 years ago, I had all of my U.S. government pensions direct deposited into my Philippines dollar account with ATM and internet access, but they changed the rules since then where internet and ATM access is no longer available, except for a dollar passbook account in my name only, which is a U.S. government directive to the Regulatory Central Bank of the Philippines! No passbook for for me! So, I just rerouted all of my U.S. government pensions back into my U.S. bank account and just wrote out our U.S. personal checks for deposit into our Philippine dollar account every other month for our monthly living expenses here in the Philippines. It's not a perfect system, but it works just fine for now! Anyway, it's only 1 trip inside my local bank every other month! No big deal, it's only 2 blocks away from our front porch door steps! I'm not too concerned about gaining a 3% interest on my money, because at the end of the year we end up paying taxes to IRS anyway! IRS gets us all sooner or later! So, I'd rather hide my money from the prying eyes of the IRS! Anyways, at age 70, I'll be tax exempted and won't have to worry about paying any taxes all together, if I live that long! :thumbs-up-smile:

Edited June 4, 2010 by Pinoy Art

[Singers]

I don't think I would want my $100,000 in any foreign bank! It's easy to get it in there, but I'm sure it will be a different story trying to get it all out when you need it! I trust the bank that I'm with now and have been for the past 13 years and they have at least 5 branches that I know of just within less than a mile radius from where we live. Actually there's two branches just walking distance from our house of at least 2 short blocks away! All my adult life I seldom relied on interest bearing accounts or IRAs. I just stash my extra money each month in a safe deposit box and just let it buildup for rainy days! We just like to live a simple and stress free retirement lifestyle! :508::thumbs-up-smile::(

Hi Art...it's HSBC USA..FDIC insured ect. Not sure how you got HSBC being a Philippine bank. I agree...I would not keep 100 grand, let alone 5 grand pesos in a bank in the Philippines. :541:Although, I could be in trouble if they have a major issue with the ATM's coming from foreign establishments...might consider a Peso account of around 5 grand dollar for emergency issues. :cheers:Keeping your money in non risky growth is, IMHO, FAR better then a safe, at my age. :tiphat:You can still have a simple and non stress free situation retired...and actually make a few bucks. Say you have 200 grand from UPS stocks, IRA and an annuity...and you get 3% with NO risk...do the math for 12 years. Again, this is NO risk....just a little something more then what a safe would get you.85 grand...in a VERY safe and secure investment. A safe?0 dollarsBesides, a safe can be lifted.

Hi Inspector,HSBC == Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. We also have them here in UK... I had a Singapore HSBC account and a Shanghai and UK HSBC account and it was no help with transferring funds AT ALL. Slow and cumbersome and hefty charges. I canceled all my HSBC accounts.UK Bank ATM card suits me and for large amounts I use "Sure Money" (SwiftCash <--- click link) instant transfer which takes 2/3 days for the PI admin but is in PI immediately and is "Visible but not available".... awaiting PI Admin? = Money laundering clearance- which is OK. I pay about £6.= US$9 per transaction. HSBC Charge was £25 = US$36 and would take 21+ days same time from S'Pore to S'Hai. which is ridiculous IMOBPI now have a London( BPI London UK <--- click link) branch and I am looking into the possibility of being able to (iNET) t'ferr from my UK Bank to BPI London and on to BPI Tacloban all electronically from home. I will keep the Forum posted when / if set-up.Artistic attachment NO not Autistic.... just art....UK Tom

Edited June 4, 2010 by Singers

[Mr Lee]

OK I will throw in a centavos worth here. While we are from the US so some of what we do may not apply to the UK, I do what some others do as well. We (my wife and I) have accounts in BPI Philippines and CitiBank Philippines and we write US dollar checks from our US dollar accounts and deposit them into our Philippine dollar accounts about one month before we feel that we will need the funds. Up until last year I was able to use my Citibank US ATM card in a Philippines Citibank and not pay any fees but now they are charging a 3% exchange rate (what a rip off) so I no longer do that unless I need funds in an emergency. I can also go online to our US account and do a wire transfer from the US dollar account to our Philippine dollar account and then do an exchange to pesos at a time convenient to us. When the time comes for an exchange, then I call a money changer and have them meet us at our bank. I have found a number of money changers are willing to do that for larger amounts such as $1000 or more at a time.I would like to make this comment here for those of you who ONLY use a Non Philippine and non Philippine ATM card, what would happen if the connections all went down? Would you be able to live without funds for a few weeks or months if God forbid another 9/11 or some other disaster were to break the connections for a while.  Think about it and do yourself a favor and open a dollar account and peso account in a Philippine bank and keep enough money on hand for emergencies. JMHO and that is what we do and I make sure to have enough to last at least a few months if access to our US accounts should end up being cut off for any reason.  I realize that not everyone may be as fortunate as I feel we are and they may not be able to do that but it would be a good safety cushion to have and that is why I am suggesting it. 

[Singers]

OK I will throw in a centavos worth --- now they are charging a 3% exchange rate (what a rip off) so I no longer do that unless I need funds in an emergency. I can also go online to our US account and do a wire transfer from the US dollar account to our Philippine dollar account and then do an exchange to pesos at a time convenient to us. When the time comes for an exchange, then I call a money changer and have them meet us at our bank. I have found a number of money changers are willing to do that for larger amounts such as $1000 or more at a time.I would like to make this comment here for those of you who ONLY use a Non Philippine and non Philippine ATM card, what would happen if the connections all went down? Would you be able to live without funds for a few weeks or months some other disaster were to break the connections for a while. Think about it and do yourself a favor and open a dollar account and peso account in a Philippine bank and keep enough money on hand for emergencies. JMHO and that is what we do and I make sure to have enough to last at least a few months if access to our US accounts should end up being cut off for any reason. I realize that not everyone may be as fortunate as I feel we are and they may not be able to do that but it would be a good safety cushion to have and that is why I am suggesting it.

Lee,How dreadful -- questioning the BANK'S greedy 3%. THEY made HUGE profits before this punitive charge AND wasted "OUR" money and now WE have to pay for their greed and stupidity. IMO. They will accept donations I am told.!!!Good points re emergency "Cashe" of cash kept in PI. In a SAFE place???UK Tom :thumbs-up-smile: :508: Mr Lee doing a great "sidestep" IMHO Edited June 4, 2010 by Singers

[Inspector]

Few quick comments.You do not have to pay any taxes on a rollover account, nor any IRA account until you hit age 59 1/2 years old and withdraw the money. That is the beauty of these accounts...tax deferred. The Roth IRA is even better...no taxes when you take the money out either. HSBC IS a bank from Hong Kong, but they have branches in the USA, and of those branches, I have not used any as they do not have any in Arizona. I simply used a phone and the interne to transfer my cash from Wells Fargo (before finding out they are BPI affiliated)...I like that they are a "internet" bank...of course what bank anybody uses is personal. For me, no problems with them so far (knock on wood)...and they do have a nice premiere account for those who have a savings plan over 100 grand and want to put it to use living here in the Philippines. If I have any issues I will go back to Wells Fargo and use with BPI.Lee is correct in emergency funds with a peso account. I am in the process of this and could score a free toaster from a bank, a toaster that will probably break upon ejection of the toast. :thumbs-up-smile:

[Jim Sibbick]

Some people live here for years and never open a local bank account. They just maintain a bank account in their home country and have their new ATM cards sent here. It's convenient to use foreign ATM cards here in the Philippines, but the downside is you will lose around 3% on the transactions. A plus is that your foreign ATM card can be used anywhere in the world and you never have to queue up for a counter transaction or pay monthly fees..

That would be me!In my opinion, only foreigners with businesses need a local bank account.Regards; Jim

[Mr Lee]

Some people live here for years and never open a local bank account. They just maintain a bank account in their home country and have their new ATM cards sent here.  It's convenient to use foreign ATM cards here in the Philippines, but the downside is you will lose around 3% on the transactions. A plus is that your foreign ATM card can be used anywhere in the world and you never have to queue up for a counter transaction or pay monthly fees..

That would be me!In my opinion, only foreigners with businesses need a local bank account.Regards; Jim

I know people feel both ways, but should a crisis come to pass and ATM's go down, and it can and has happened, then many people who live using just foreign bank ATM cards might be in trouble until the problems was fixed. We all get complacent thinking that nothing can go wrong, but in reality the ATM's are basically computers and we all know that computers can fail and I believe ATM's and communications rely on underwater cables and satellites and it was not that long ago that an underwater cable got cut and communication had to be rerouted, and satellites can fail, so IMO what would be the harm in having a local account with some money in it.  I guess we could lose it but that can also happen if a major money crisis happens in any country.Anyway to add to Jim's thoughts, possibly the second type of foreigner who might wish to have a local bank account in the Philippines might be those of us married to a Filipina or in a permanent relationship with a Filipina and living in the Philippines full or part time, and who wish to make sure that she is provided for in the event of our passing, and of course only if we can afford to do so.  Of course in the end we each have our own thoughts and have to do what we feel is best for us, and if we are married or in a relationship, then what might be best for our partners should something eventually happen to us, and that is what is great about forums, people get to see all sides of an issue and thus get to make up their own minds after learning how others do things. :lol:  

[Art2ro]

With the 3% service fees on using ATM machines, it doesn't seem practical in not having a local bank institution where one frequently stays or reside! Like most living in the Philippines it's only secondary or just for emergencies to use credit or debit cards from anyone's home country! Those 3% service charges can add up over time with constant use! My bank cards in the U.S. charges a flat $5 fee per ATM transaction and an additional 1% what's been withdrawn from the ATM machine that is not associated with my bank! Ouch! So, no I don't use my U.S. credit or debit cards unless it's an emergency! And I do have ample cash to last us for 6 months or even years if in the even there is an enormous solar flare that would knock out all of the electronic devices world wide or in an event of a major typhoon or earthquake in the Philippines knocking down power lines and taking months to restore power! It's already beginning to be a common power outage occurrence here in the Philippines and it's getting worst to no end!

[MikeB]

This has gotten off topic from the original question but I used a Capital One debit card during my last trip that I specifically got to use there. It uses the PLUS network and is not a Mastercard or Visa; good only for cash withdrawals but there are no fees of any kind (except if the local ATM has one). I used it many times with no problem. They use the current exchange rate on the day the withdrawal is posted. I learned about it on this site. As Lee said, it would be wise to have a local bank account for emergencies.

[retired]

Every ones situation is different of course but i would first inquire there in the US both from the banking industry as well as SS ( assuming you are talking about social security ) . In my case i applied for my ss through the US Embassy in Manila and receive via direct deposit to a US dollar account .There are both pluses and minuses doing it the way i did . The minus is the fact that you can not withdraw via atm card from your dd account and have to go in person to make passbook withdrawal . At my bank , BDO , that's not a big deal as i don't have to stand in line as a senior citizen and simply give my passbook to a teller and sit until she serves the customer she is dealing with . This senior policy relates to anyone over 50 i think expat or not .I also avoid any service charge on my account and my money arrives the 3rd of every month but goes through Manila first so i always wait till first business day after to withdraw . Next month , for instance because the 3rd falls on a Sat. i assume the bank will not credit until the following Monday so i would withdraw on Tuesday . Sometimes with Philippines holidays it can be up to five days . I also avoid the min. balance requirement of $200 ( last time i asked ) .I can either take out in dollars and exchange at street vendor or simply convert to peso at the bank . Converting at the bank will get a lower rate as the bank has a conversion fee but in all honesty i rarely find the street exchange to be much different . After all , the vendor has to make money also . :-) Also , keep in mind that with ss you are not talking about having many thousands of US dollars in a Philippine bank and "big brother" watching over you . If you are in the many thousands category then by all means be aware that Philipppine banks do report to the US gov . :-)