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Philippine Bank Structure and ATM Fees
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- Category: Costs and Money
Please remember most all the banks here in the Philippines are franchised. Its not like in the USA where the bank is under a big umbrella. Here one bank under one name can go "out of business"; (bankrupt) and the remainder of the same named banks will stay open.
Seven Rules For Using Your Credit Card In The Philippines November 9, 2005
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- Category: Costs and Money
Over the past month most Americans with credit cards have received a notice that Visa and MasterCard are changing the way that they charge concurrency conversion fees. Notices about Visa/MasterCard included with credit card bills don't address the main problem.
The changes to the Visa and MasterCard are minor. They will both continue to charge a one percent transaction fee for foreign currency conversions. However, now that one percent fee will apply to any Philippine transaction, even if no currency transaction takes place. That goes for all overseas locations not just for the Philippines.
Street Smarts And Money
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- Category: Costs and Money
So its best to bring some cash with you. But always use a money belt and don't show it around. As a foreigner, you will be considered wealthy even if you are not. And you could be a target of a pickpocket. Every one here thinks you are a millionaire just because you are a foreigner. So do be careful. I carry my wallet in my front right pocket, with a chain on it, connected to my belt. I am perceived as a very wealthy man here, so am a target. But no one has ever tried to get my wallet from my front pocket. In Manila someone got a note book I carry from my right rear pocket full of useless information, but no cash. After running about a hundred meters he realized what he had, turned around and gave me a sickly, disgusted look.
Opening A Bank Account In The Philippines
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- Category: Costs and Money
Do you need an Alien Registration Card (ACR) You Get Only After Six Months In Country?
There is no law in the Philippines that a foreigner must have an ACR to open an account. There is a law (Anti-Money Laundering Act) that requires customers to produce original documents of identity issued by an official authority bearing a photograph of the customer. Examples of such documents are identity cards and passports. There are other requirements such as evidence of permanent address etc. Also accounts can only be opened face to face. As a matter of internal policy a bank has a right to decide its own policies and many require foreigners to have an ACR. They also have a right to refuse to open an account for a potential customer if they so wish. Getting a credit card is even more difficult and even with an ACR and an account at BPI I was refused one, I managed to get one at Citibank as I had a Immigrant Certificate of Registration, (ICR.) Of course an ICR is even better, shows you are a permanent resident.
Travelers Checks
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- Category: Costs and Money
Traveler's checks can be cashed at decent rates only at American Express offices, and even then, the rates are not good. Some other places will cash them but at an even lower rate. They know they have you in a corner and take advantage of it. I know of only two American Express offices, one in Manila and one in Cebu, and they are not open on weekends or in the evening. Banks don't want to cash traveler's checks. You have to set up an account, deposit them and wait for them to clear. You can go to American Express and write a check on your personal account in the US. They will give you pesos right away, but at a poor exchange rate.