Philippines Money Transfer{18}
Note: this is a previous article, reposted with comments from last year. I was going to write a new article, as I continue to be very impressed with the service from Remithome. I decided that I’d be saying much of the same.
I’ve been sending money to various locations in the Philippines for a number of years now. Since we bought our property I’ve needed to set up a monthly installment. I looked at the various options for doing that, and I came back to my old standby of Remithome. I thought possibly a direct transfer from my bank would work, but the charges were too high. If the company I was dealing with would accept credit cards that certainly would have been a desirable option, but unfortunately they do not.
What I like about Remithome is the higher than most exchange rates, the reasonable transfer fee (especially if you set up a recurring transfer), and their customer service. You can have the money sent direct to a bank account or have it delivered in person. I’ve done both without issue. They have a local number that you can call and I’ve taken advantage of that on a few occasions. They have always been very helpful, and in at least one instance deviated from the norm to help me.
If you decide to try Remithome you can click on the link I provided, or the logo in my sidebar. I’ll get $5 credit for referring you, and you’ll get $10 off, so your first transfer is free. A good deal for me and a good deal for you. Of course you could always go to their site and sign up directly. I’m not sure if you get the $10 credit or not, in that case.
There are quite a few of these types of companies out there, so I encourage you to do your research to see what works best for you. If you want a recommendation based off my experience, then I think you’ll be happy with Remithome.
Sep 11, 2008 @ 15:24:00
Hi Randy: Accepting credit cards – especially for small businesses or sole proprietorships is not common here because it is too expensive for them. Visa/MC etc charges them a merchant rate of more then 5% I believe, less if you have volume. I see that we are lucky in North Amer. because the merchants or businesses pay the fees and we the users, are not charged for using the cards. It is different in Europe, I think. In norway, there is a charge for using the cr cards AND debit cards. Our German friends said they are charged 1%. We try to avoid using any type of cards there, but instead keep cash in our wallets instead.
Sep 11, 2008 @ 16:55:00
Hi Ellen – most businesses in the US just build it into the costs of the goods. They get it one way or another.
Sep 12, 2008 @ 17:18:00
I agree – but competition and price wars keep prices at bay. Anyway, the use of credit cards makes it easier for merchants to sell their products, secures their sales and lowers risks of bad debts, etc etc. It should just be an expense in the normal course of business.
Here in PI, banks like your money, and is very reluctant to give it back. So cr card frauds is such a hassle for businesses – very difficult to get the bank/visa/business to give back refunds on frauds – involves a lot of arguments back n forth. So why would businesses/users trust the system? In fact, I was just talking to someone yesterday about an expat buying several appliances, 4 per day, for several days, using citibank card. I would think that swiping the card in the machine to get authorization number is safety precaution to the merchant. But no, the sales could have been dishonored if it was fraud. Luckily, the business suspected fraud and called the bank to double check and to put the authorization in writing.
Strange system. No wonder there is still a lot of cash transactions, checks take a long time to clear and financing costs are so much higher. It is the way of life here, and it will take me awhile to get used to this. If I was going to start a business, I would have to be real street-smart
Sep 12, 2008 @ 18:03:00
Strange, but i just read John Grant’s article – coincidence he is also talking about his troubles with credit card bookings. This is a typical example I meant – the employees are just taking instructions from owner/manager who is probably taking the precautions of a credit card fraud, which is more like a common occurence here. It is very annoying to those who are legitimately honest.
Sep 14, 2008 @ 13:29:00
Hi Ellen – kind of tardy on replying here. Been real crazy busy.
It would be a hard adjustment to cash only. Currently I rarely carry cash, as I use a debit card for everything. You are encouraged to that here, with all sorts of benefits attached to do so.
I suppose it’s like anything else, whatever you get used to is the easiest after awhile.
I haven’t read John’s article yet, but it is incredibly frustrating trying to book on PAL or Cebu Pacific from here. I hope that is fixed at some point.
Sep 15, 2008 @ 19:46:00
I certainly second your comments on the difficulties of transferring money, especially when you are still in the US. Once you are established here in the Philippines it’s simple and cheap to get money into a Philippine bank account by writing a check on your US bank and depositing it here. You do endure the atrocious 45 day wait, something the Philippine government could erase with the stroke of a pen if they chose to, but that is another subject.
I am along-time highly satisfied user of RemitHome. They are prcie competitive and second to none for dependability and customer service. Be careful to note there is a direct competitor called Remit2Home. They may be good, or not, I haven’t used them, just very confusing to have the two so similarly named.
RemitHome’s largest competitor is Xoom. Xoom has not been operating more thna 4 years and have not chosen to get themselves licensed in all 50 states, so if you try them, check to see that your state is usable before you go through their enrollment process.
I highly recommend RemitHome. They are licensed in all 50 States and provide great service.
Sep 16, 2008 @ 06:30:00
Hi Dave – thanks for your confirmation of Remithome. My experience with them has been great, but you never know if that’s the case for others. The fact that they have a local number, and actually answer the phone, is a real plus to me.
They just transferred another installment for us yesterday. And the exchange rate is going in our favor!
Sep 27, 2008 @ 16:14:00
Hi Randy, way back in 1999, I came across a coke machine that accepts money from your cellphone, via texting. I thought this was so cool. Nine years later, Canada’s Royal Bank is starting this type of payment method:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=099b7c4c-d307-43ca-b2a6-0f01b7b5b7fb
Maybe in a 100 years, we will see this here in the PI
.
Sep 27, 2008 @ 18:30:00
Hi Ellen – I thought the Philippines had something like this already. I guess I got that confused, maybe with Japan. I just remember during one of my visits, someone moving money to someone else via their phone or maybe they were paying a bill but that might have been when I was coming back through Tokyo.
It will be worth watching to see how this fairs in Canada.
Sep 27, 2008 @ 22:08:00
Well, I am not a big cellphone user, but here, I think they transfer “loads” from one to another. That’s probably what you saw. In Norway, this guy punched something on his phone and aimed it at the coke machine – and a can of coke clunked out. I really don’t know how it works – maybe there is a sensor somewhere in the machine? Sure wish I had that in my purse, you can aim your cellphone right at it – anytime!!
Sep 28, 2008 @ 14:02:00
Hi Ellen – you’re probably right. Obviously I wasn’t paying much attention to what ever it was they were doing.
What do see the advantage of doing this, versus a debit card?
Sep 28, 2008 @ 15:38:00
Other than the cool techie stuff, I really don’t see any advantage other than making it very easy for people to spend. I believe this system is for small change type of expenses. I can see why they limit this type of charging your account to a minimum amount – there must be a lot of other ways hackers can get your account into this way.
Sep 28, 2008 @ 19:19:00
Hi Ellen – I’m sure that’s why they are taking it slow in Canada. To see what kind of issues arise, and how secure it can remain.
I’ve not heard of it here, yet. But then again I don’t exactly live in the most technologically advanced city, either
Oct 05, 2008 @ 17:08:00
Not sure how the ‘point and buy’ system would work … absent some kind of Bluetooth link or something else not on my phone … but6 in the Philippines, much more than the US, you can pay by phone.
But all over the world many vending machines are hooked to the Internet, even in the US … at $4 a gallon you don’t want to send the service man until the machine is empty, right? You cna find many machines online where college students or employees in a building have hacked in to make them public so you cna see if your fav drink is out of stock wihtout risking the long walk to the machine
So it is possible the prson just texted the machine, via the ‘Net like Chikka or one of those other Net to cell services.
My carrier, Smart, has a partnership with a ‘real’ bank. You open an account, deposit or trnasfer money into the account and when shopping at an enrooled merchant, take your purchases to the register and the regster texts a request for payment, which you get on your phone. Send ‘ok’, the merchant gets a ‘paid’ code, and hand you you goods and receipt.
Very much like a debit card but you don’t need a debit card reader/keyboard and you don’t need a card.
Oct 05, 2008 @ 23:55:00
As usual Dave, you are probably right on this one. What do I know? hahaha. Anyway, I did read somewhere that North America is several years’ behind when it comes to wireless. I believe it was Bill Gates who said it. And that Philippines is the no. 1 in mobile phone users and texters.
May 29, 2009 @ 21:55:35
Yes really good article for transfering money. I knew from colleges from Philipines that transfering money to homes is quite hard and making all the time problems. I meant they were carrying all money with them while traveling.
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