Suggestion Who can suggest an above average bank in Dumaguete?

There are many banks here and I have had accounts with quite a few of them, but they all seem to have a flaw that leads me to try another bank.

My latest bank is PSBank which has a fantastic savings account where your ATM card is also a Mastercard which can be used online or anywhere Mastercard is accepted as well as at any ATM machine or anywhere debit cards are accepted.

The problem with PSBank is the difficulty of getting online access. I have applied 3 times but you need to be sitting beside your PLDT landline at all time because they will try to call you and if they do not get a reply they will deny your application for an online account. Complaining has not helped me and I have tried sitting by the phone 23 hours a day but of course they call on that 24th hour, and you do not know in advance what day they will call, you have about a 3 to 5 day window there.

Other banks have given me problems with ineptitude like RCBC Savings Bank sending a valid credit card, on my account, to my ex's family in the bukid of another province without my request or permission and apparently without her knowledge. That was the address she gave when we applied for our accounts (one for her and one for me as I don't do joint accounts) and they "Thought I would like it if they gave her a courtesy card". We would not have even known about it except that her relatives called her and said they had her credit card.

Some banks, like Maybank, simply charge too much. And that is why they have no lineups. Their fees for everything you do is high, like 200 pesos to make a deposit from your PayPal. But I dislike Metrobank for the opposite reason as in there is always a line up and besides that, they are the same company as PSBank so I would expect similar problems.

I loved the good old days of Bancnet where you only had to go to Bancnet.com to access your account online but it seems most, if not all, backs have their own online system now.

So online account access is important to me. Low fees are important to me. Smart customer service is important to me. A Mastercard or Visa linked to my savings account is important to me. Has anyone found an 'ideal' bank that addresses all the issues?

 

I have been with PNB 8 years now No problems. Banknet with other cards and the Online account has been great.

 

I am with BPI never had a problem i changed from R.C.B.C. bank because B.P.I.debit and savings card works all over the world .

 

Thanks for that info but it just goes to show you how different people will have different experiences because I used my RCBC Savings Bank credit card and debit card in Hong Kong and Canada with no problem, although I did tell them in advance that I would be doing that. But that was 6 years ago so they may have changed by now.

 

Not sure what kind of banking you need to do, I have kept my US bank account and continue to do online banking for bills etc same as when I was in the States, transfer funds to my Charles Schwab Investment checking account as I decide to have local cash. It comes with a free Visa debit card that I only use at bigger bank ATMs, I always get within a fraction of a cent of the daily spot exchange rate and at the end of the month Schwab credits my account for any ATM fees I had that month. This has personally worked from Central America to Hong Kong so far. Will be testing this in the Phils in a couple weeks but expecting no issues (I hope).

 

I am glad with my HSBC account for euro and China bank for peso. To get on line with both banks as easy as can be to make transfers and more.

 

I also bank with BPI for many, many years for the same reasons as Alex. They have prepaid/postpaid MasterCard that is good for use online or anywhere I have gone throughout Asia including and in the USA. They also have online banking from desktop or cellphone. I don't use that one myself but know they have it. But they do have long ques at their main branch across from Jose Rizal Park near McDonald's and the Cathedral.

 

We use the PS Bank next to Palwa Hotel and get EXCELLENT service. However we applied for a car loan there about a year ago and did not pickup on the call for the approval and had the same results you had. They would not approve the loan but they wouldn't again either. Paid cash for the car although I was simply trying to establish credit with the loan.

 

I am very satisfied with BPI main branch in Dumaguete. Friendly & very customer oriented.

They have a good app for iPads & iPhones -- maybe Andriod phones too.

If you can afford a Gold ATM card (P500,000 total on deposit with the bank) then you do not have to queue for service. Plus, you get the preferred real-time currency exchange rate. When I exchange dollars for pesos the exchange rate is only 10-15 centavos less that what I am seeing on the Internet -- I consider that a reasonable fee for the bank's services.

Even with a normal ATM card the USD/PHP exchange rate is only about 20 centavos less than the best rate on the Internet.

For retired military people BPI can arrange for your monthly pension check to be electronically deposited in their sister bank in America and then it immediately shows up in your BPI account here. I imagine it works that way with disability income and social security income too (but I have not tried that).