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Finance & Legal bank with online FX ?

Discussion in 'Businesses - Services - Products' started by kelpguy, May 17, 2019.

  1. kelpguy

    kelpguy DI Senior Member

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    i've been using BPI online FX for about 10 years and all was good until a couple of months ago when... BPI remodeled their website and discontinued FX with no notice!

    i went in to the bank the other day to do a manual FX; i was number 8 in queue and two hours later the rep was servicing number 5 and i had an appointment in a half hour so i gave my queue card to a tiny little old lady who was number 19 and i walked out the door.

    yesterday i went into BDO to check on online FX and they don't provide it either; maybe it's going out of style?

    can anyone recommend a fils bank that has an online FX feature? chairs with backs and take a number service would be a nice touch also.

    thanks...
     
  2. SmartKoala

    SmartKoala DI Junior Member Veteran Army

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  3. scuabpete

    scuabpete DI New Member

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    Plus one for transferwise, it is free to sign up but they charge a fee for each transaction. It is VERY reasonable compared to banks and the FX is a spot rate that is also much better than the banks offer.
     
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  4. OP
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    kelpguy

    kelpguy DI Senior Member

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    i've been using the BPI website for online fx for about 10 years but updating a bank website w/o including the fx function is what my g'ma would call a ''dirty trick.''
    no advance notice, no projected reinstall fx date; they just left us hanging.

    the 1st time i went into bpi to see why i couldn't do anything with my $ acct online, they told me i could only do a fx at their customer service desk and they couldn't give me any info on whether or not the fx online function would be reactivated on the new website.

    i went in a couple of weeks ago to do an in bank fx and learned that the fx function is scheduled to go back on-line on 1 july 2019 but the rep wasn't real firm about it. in other words, don't hold your breath...


    but i just did a 3000usd fx cost test at https://transferwise.com/ and the fee's came to 26.15 USD.

    i can write a $3000 check on my us bank and deposit it at BPI for $5usd and then watch the market and do a fx online (that's when it gets back online :^)
    it takes around 3 weeks before the money is available in my BPI account but that's ok with me; just need to plan ahead.
    i can also withdraw usd at the bank and do a fx at a money changer when the market is favorable.

    Transferwise, what am i missing here?
     
  5. Sedona

    Sedona DI Forum Adept

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    Are you trying to transfer from foreign bank account into a local account? That is easy to do online with BDO, I do it all the time. I don't know though about transferring from a BDO account out to a foreign bank if that's what you want to do.
     
  6. Kilam63

    Kilam63 DI Member Showcase Reviewer Veteran Air Force

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    I did a comparison of using Transferwise versus bank FX and found Transferwise a better deal. For example I transferred 480,000 php at 52.08 to the $ and their fee of $74.92 (you can save money by setting up a wire transfer but I optioned for a bank debit) for a total cost of $9,291.51. If I deposited a check for $9,291.51 into my local bank it would cost $5 for the deposit and their exchange rate of 51.05php to the dollar I would get 474,076php. So unless anyone knows where to get a better exchange rate Transferwise will save you some peso.
     
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  7. SmartKoala

    SmartKoala DI Junior Member Veteran Army

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    But you also need to compare the rate that TransferWise offers: it's the Interbank rate which is usually used between different banks. And that is where they make money from you and not with the charges.
    1. Just calculate how many pesos you get (net) from your US bank transaction and how much pesos you would receive using TransferWise. My estimation is that you would save more than 100 US dollars (net) with this one transaction due to the better rate. But keep in mind that the filipino bank will also charge you 120 - 150 pesos just to put the money in your account.
    2. My last transaction from my Swiss Bank account to my Metrobank account via TransferWise took less than 24 hours!!! And still I can choose when I want to exchange my money to Pesos (when the rate is up).

    Just make the calculation for yourself and consider also the transparency you get from TransferWise even before executing an exchange. I hope my advice is helpful to you.
     
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