How can a 'Newbie' receive cash if no bank account first three months in Philippines

[Southsealad]

I'm planning on moving to Iloilo in July from the UK.  I understand it will take a minimum of 3 months before I can get a bank account.   I don't have a credit card and my UK bank does not send money to Philippines.Am  I 'up a creek, without a paddle' or is there a way. other than the Wise Debit Card, and I don't want to change my bank.

 

Thank you

[QuantumQuandry]

When you say your UK bank doesn't send money to PI, I am assuming you mean wiring.  Foreign ATM should still work, no?

 

That said, I would recommend having as many ways of getting money as possible so it might be worth getting a credit card before you come and also keeping cash.

 

One of the best options for Americans is the Schwab card as they rebate all foreign ATM fees.  Seems like I recall brits had a similar card but I don't recall the name of it.  You don't want to change banks but it might be worth having a second bank to keep 'transfer money' in.  That's what I do.  Just EFT money from my main bank to Schwab and send enough for normal living expenses.

[Upnotover]

Western Union, that'll work.

[FritsSikkink]

Use your UK debit card in an ATM.

[Korat Kiwi]

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

Western Union, that'll work.

I agree it will work but their fees are horrendous. 

 

I'd say get a Wise card although OP doesn't want one.  They are that good. 

[Southsealad]

8 minutes ago, Korat Kiwi said:

I agree it will work but their fees are horrendous. 

 

I'd say get a Wise card although OP doesn't want one.  They are that good. 

Agree Wise card looks good and they are swamping me currently to buy a card.   Problem with them, if I understand correctly, it's meant for shopping.  I want to find a way to get my monthly pensions to Philippines.

[Yellowtail]

How much do you really need? Why not take cash? 

[Korat Kiwi]

7 minutes ago, Southsealad said:

Agree Wise card looks good and they are swamping me currently to buy a card.   Problem with them, if I understand correctly, it's meant for shopping.  I want to find a way to get my monthly pensions to Philippines.

I get my pension into a NZ bank and have setup an automated payment to transfer some of that to my Wise Debit card. 

 

All I use in Thailand is the Wise card, either for payment of goods or ATM for cash. 

 

It works well for me. 

[Southsealad]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:12 PM, Korat Kiwi said:

I get my pension into a NZ bank and have setup an automated payment to transfer some of that to my Wise Debit card. 

 

All I use in Thailand is the Wise card, either for payment of goods or ATM for cash. 

 

It works well for me. 

 

[Southsealad]

Hi, I note you say you are in Thailand.   Wise have told me that the card is not presently available in Thailand.   Could be they mean you can't apply for one if you are living in Thailand or do they mean you can't use it in Thailand.   ?????

 

[EVENKEEL]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:39 PM, Southsealad said:

I'm planning on moving to Iloilo in July from the UK.  I understand it will take a minimum of 3 months before I can get a bank account.   I don't have a credit card and my UK bank does not send money to Philippines.Am  I 'up a creek, without a paddle' or is there a way. other than the Wise Debit Card, and I don't want to change my bank.

 

Thank you

If you can't figure how to have money, what are your chances of surviving in PI?

[Upnotover]

On 5/1/2024 at 12:50 PM, Korat Kiwi said:

I agree it will work but their fees are horrendous. 

 

I'd say get a Wise card although OP doesn't want one.  They are that good. 

They used to be an expensive option but now much less so, from the Wise website.....

[Upnotover]

20 hours ago, Southsealad said:

Hi, I note you say you are in Thailand.   Wise have told me that the card is not presently available in Thailand.   Could be they mean you can't apply for one if you are living in Thailand or do they mean you can't use it in Thailand.   ?????

 

They work fine in Thailand, and in the Philippines.  Just get one whilst you are in the UK.  It's very likely to come in handy.

[Yellowtail]

bitcoin

[AreYouGerman]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:02 AM, Southsealad said:

Agree Wise card looks good and they are swamping me currently to buy a card.   Problem with them, if I understand correctly, it's meant for shopping.  I want to find a way to get my monthly pensions to Philippines.

 

What do you mean by 'it's for shopping'? It's a debit card and can be used like a debit card. Also, there isn't only Wise, there are literally 100s of Online Banks similar to Wise. All are super convenient and exactly what you are looking for.

[shdmn]

Try sign up for a fully verified GCash account.  It's very similar to a real bank account but easier to get. That will allow you to transfer money into it from abroad like you would a regular Philippines bank account.  You can then get a card to take money out of ATMs or just pay for things directly using your smartphone.  I believe there are ways around some of the info they might ask for like local address and gov't ID.  Just need to be a little creative.  I've heard mixed things about people using their passport as the gov't id so not sure if that still works or if only the ACR card # works now.  You need a Philippines smartphone # to sign up so that means you pretty much need to be in the country before getting it.

 

https://help.gcash.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017722393-Get-Fully-Verified

[shdmn]

On 4/30/2024 at 11:02 PM, Southsealad said:

Agree Wise card looks good and they are swamping me currently to buy a card.   Problem with them, if I understand correctly, it's meant for shopping.  I want to find a way to get my monthly pensions to Philippines.

Lots of people use Wise for that, but mostly by transferring it into their local bank account.  That avoids the fees you have to pay when using their ATM card to get cash.

[lopburi3]

On 5/7/2024 at 6:32 AM, shdmn said:

Lots of people use Wise for that, but mostly by transferring it into their local bank account.  That avoids the fees you have to pay when using their ATM card to get cash.

The problem is a newbie can not have a local bank account.  And Wise card is higher percentage than many other cards when used for cash in ATM.  Most newbies will use ATM card for at least a few months but try to have low fee/and return of ATM charge type if they can.  As said above Wise card is high percentage fee to obtain cash at ATM.  But one size does not fit all - some people will not be that concerned about the extra 3 or 4 percent costs (especially if for only a limited time),

[foreverlomsak]

On 5/3/2024 at 2:09 PM, Southsealad said:

Could be they mean you can't apply for one if you are living in Thailand

Correct they are not licensed to issue cards in Thailand, you can get one in your home country provided you've an address to send it to.

[shdmn]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:47 PM, lopburi3 said:

The problem is a newbie can not have a local bank account.  And Wise card is higher percentage than many other cards when used for cash in ATM.  Most newbies will use ATM card for at least a few months but try to have low fee/and return of ATM charge type if they can.  As said above Wise card is high percentage fee to obtain cash at ATM.  But one size does not fit all - some people will not be that concerned about the extra 3 or 4 percent costs (especially if for only a limited time),

Wise just increased their fees for exchanging money for most westerners.  Not sure if their ATM fees went up.

[Korat Kiwi]

6 hours ago, shdmn said:

Wise just increased their fees for exchanging money for most westerners.  Not sure if their ATM fees went up.

Yes I too received an email from Wise saying fees are increasing in some cases doubling! 

 

Seems to be occurring alot in the financial sector. 

[soi3eddie]

On 5/1/2024 at 7:12 AM, Korat Kiwi said:

ll I use in Thailand is the Wise card, either for payment of goods or ATM for cash. 

 

Still got the 220 Baht ATM fee but using Wise in Thailand is best value for purchases.

 

[CanadaSam]

Wise is LOT more than simply having a debit card!  If I were the OP, I would open a Wise account ASAP!

 

Once he has the Wise account, he can open up sub-accounts in ANY currency he wishes, including GBP, and it is easy as pie to have all his income routed into his Wise GBP account from the UK, because it shows up as a local account in the UK, so virtually no fees at that point.

 

Then, he has MANY options open to him (besides the Wise card) to transfer funds to anywhere or anyone in the world including Thailand, as all he has to do is specify the bank account and the amount he wishes to transfer.  And the fees are amazingly low, and it takes seconds, literally, not days!

 

This could be his own account, a friend's, or even the account of the landlord where he is staying, etc.

 

Wise has been a game-changer for me, I even use my funds to transfer within Wise to my other currency accounts there, depending on exchange rates trends, etc.

 

Everything happens within seconds on Wise, I have not been disappointed, thus far!!!

 

 

[DanyAsia]

I completely agree! The Wise debit card is fantastic for managing travel finances. However, if the OP is looking for other options, there are great choices like Gcash, Maya, or even digital banks like UnionDigital Bank https://uniondigitalbank.io/en/faqs/can-foreigners-open-an-account-with-uniondigital-bank

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've got an upcoming first-time trip to the Phils for a week or so (accompanying my Thai wife on her business trip).

 

I have a no fee / fee reimbursing U.S. debit card that should make withdrawing local funds from a Phil ATM no problem, apart from using the card itself there for POS purchases.

 

But if anyone here is familiar, I could use some guidance on what the best value / most reliable / easiest to find working Phil bank ATMs are for foreigners to use....

 

We're gonna be staying in the Makati area... so not out in the boonies.

 

TIA.

 

[BritManToo]

Using any debit cards in PI ATMs is dead easy. Take your Thai debit card as well as your US card, just in case!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Using any debit cards in PI ATMs is dead easy. Take your Thai debit card as well as your US card, just in case!

 

As I said above, never been...

 

But I thought I read in the past here about Phil ATMs often being non-working and/or hard to find, unlike Thailand....

 

Quote

Take your Thai debit card as well as your US card, just in case!

 

The Thai cards charge foreign ATM usage and foreign currency fees. My U.S. cards, of which I have several, don't.

 

What would be the point of bringing those kind of Thai bank cards?

 

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

But I thought I read in the past here about Phil ATMs often being non-working and/or hard to find, unlike Thailand....

 

What would be the point of bringing those kind of Thai bank cards?

Hotel and night club lobbies were popular sites for ATMs in Barretto.

I would just search for 'ATM' on Google Maps to find them.

Most of them worked, although not during the daily power cuts.

 

As for other cards, ATMs do sometimes take a card and keep it, hard if you only have one.

[likerdup1]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:55 PM, QuantumQuandry said:

When you say your UK bank doesn't send money to PI, I am assuming you mean wiring.  Foreign ATM should still work, no?

 

That said, I would recommend having as many ways of getting money as possible so it might be worth getting a credit card before you come and also keeping cash.

 

One of the best options for Americans is the Schwab card as they rebate all foreign ATM fees.  Seems like I recall brits had a similar card but I don't recall the name of it.  You don't want to change banks but it might be worth having a second bank to keep 'transfer money' in.  That's what I do.  Just EFT money from my main bank to Schwab and send enough for normal living expenses.

Could you provide some details about this "Schwab card". What type of account is needed? checking? trading account? what?. Can you open it online? etc etc. Is it an actual credit card or just a debit card?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 8/13/2024 at 2:53 PM, DanyAsia said:

I completely agree! The Wise debit card is fantastic for managing travel finances. However, if the OP is looking for other options, there are great choices like Gcash, Maya, or even digital banks like UnionDigital Bank https://uniondigitalbank.io/en/faqs/can-foreigners-open-an-account-with-uniondigital-bank

 

Except the OP's question is about his first couple months in the PH when he wouldn't have the typical PH IDs yet, such as an ACR card. And the Union Digital Bank you mention above appears to require those kinds of ID from foreigners wanting to open accounts:

 

"Can foreigners open an account with UnionDigital Bank?

Foreigners with Philippine mobile numbers and proof of residency can open a UnionDigital Bank account. Please make sure to have your supporting documents (such as ACR-I card) ready for a smooth account opening process."

 

https://uniondigitalbank.io/en/faqs/can-foreigners-open-an-account-with-uniondigital-bank

 

https://uniondigitalbank.io/en/faqs/what-kind-of-ids-can-i-use-to-open-a-uniondigital-bank-account