⌛ moving money from US to Duma

OK Tom, Here is how I do it. I have two bank accounts with my local (Cleveland, Ohio) bank. I am set up to do online banking with them. This is free these days with most banks. I can sit down at any internet connection in the world and access my own accounts. I can pay bills I forgot to pay or transfer funds for example. I travel with a VISA debit card that is associated with the free checking account. I keep a modest amount of cash in this account so if someone steals my identity or the number they can do only moderate damage. If I am spending too much out of pocket during my travels, I can sit down at the cafe go to USBank.com and transfer a few hundred from my savings into the account which my debit card draws from, and then use it at the hotel or at the ATM. If you use the card at the hotel you will not have fees. If you use it at the ATM you will have a fee. But in neither case will you pay for any transfers. I got a fair exchange rate doing this but apparently others may not have. Lastly, I am able to monitor charges to this account online and see if there is any tampering or overcharges. If so, I can contact my bank and have a stop put on the card. No one way of doing things is perfect. One must always remember the golden rule. Every financial institution in the world makes it's living off of fees and transfers so there is alway a plus and a minus. Minimize your ATM and money exchange transactions and you will minimize your fees.

 

Brilliant, and with the VISA check card you can use it just like a credit card anywhere VISA is accepted.

 

no, withdrawal in local currency from your chq acct via international atm is not free. my bankcard shows PLUS logo at the back, which means i can use any atm in the world that has this signage. i checked the PLUS atm locator website for dumaguete:
1. EXPRESS TELLER
VALENCIA ROAD BAGACAY DUMAGUETE CITY NEGROS ORIENTAL
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
HYPERMART DUMAGUETE OFF
open 24 Hours
2. EXPRESS TELLER
UNITS 1 AND 2 UYMATIAO BLDG ALONG SAN JOSE ST DUMAGUETE CITY NEGROS ORIENTAL
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
DUMAGUETE- SAN JOSE 1
open 24 Hours
3. EXPRESS TELLER
GOV MARIANO PERDICES AVE COR LEGAZPI ST DUMAGUETE CITY NEGROS ORIENTAL
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
DUMAGUETE- GOV. PERDICES 1
open 24 Hours
4. EXPRESS TELLER
LOWER GF LEE SUPER PLAZA GOV PERDICES ST CORNER SAN JOSE ST DUMAGUETE CITY
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
LEE SUPER PLAZA DUMAGUETE
open 24 Hours
5. EXPRESS TELLER
PRUDENTIAL BANK BLDG REAL ST NORTH ROAD DUMAGUETE CITY
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
DUMAGUETE NORTH RD. [EX-PRB]
open 24 Hours
6. EXPRESS TELLER
GOV MARIANO PERDICES AVE COR LEGAZPI ST DUMAGUETE CITY NEGROS ORIENTAL
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
DUMAGUETE- GOV. PERDICES 2
open 24 Hours
7. EXPRESS TELLER
UNITS 1 AND 2 UYMATIAO BLDG ALONG SAN JOSE ST DUMAGUETE CITY NEGROS ORIENTAL
DUMAGUETE CITY, 6200
Location:
DUMAGUETE- SAN JOSE 2
open 24 Hours

 

Try Moneygram. You can get your money at banks or in Cebuana Lhulier.

 

try xoom.com

 

I have wired money bank to bank to Dumaguete. My bank in the States charges a $35 fee for an international transfer.

 

What I do is, after opening an account into a local Filipino Bank, wire the money to the PI before leaving and once in Dumaguete use atm machines to withdraw what i need when i need it.
What do you guys say.......is it a good method or just a bad one?

 

Hello, You are making more of a big deal out of this than need be. ATM's are networked world wide. The little logos on the back "Plus" " Interlink" etc. are the same in the US and in Phil. Your account in the states stays in the states. No bank account in Phil needed. My comments about transfers were from one of my US bank accounts to another also in the US, performed on their website.

It is indeed costly to transfer money from a US bank to a Filipino bank. I do not recomend this unless you are setting up a much more serious financial network than one would need for travel.

I only do the transfer thing so that if my card gets stolen or abused I only have about $200. in the account to worry about. When this runs low I go online,transfer my own money to this account, and then go about spending again. I never have to worry about someone stealing my life savings from me because the card I use never has too much in the account.

The ultra simple answer is this: If you have an ATM card from a Bank in the US, simply bring it and use it on your travels. I had fees of $1.50 from an ATM in Manila and I also got a fair exchange rate. The banks in Duma are plentiful and only a few peso pedicab away. In 6 previous visits I have never had trouble using an ATM.

I hope that helps.

 

Money savings to Duma

International Money transfer is costly especially if you transfer a sizeable amount. You can open a dollar savings account using your personal check in RCBC Savings Bank (see Jingjing Culi, very nice lady-maintain minimum balance of $100 ). Based on your deposit wait 13 working days and your cash is ready for withdrawal (in dollars). If you are in the States and there's an LBC near you, you can sign up for ATM Bilis Padala. Cost is $12.00 per transaction. You will be given a pin# and the LBC in the Philippines will send an LBC ATM card to the recepient in PI and you (the sender) will advice the recipient what the pin# is. No additional charges for ATM use and money is available right away. Great for emergencies.

K-2

 

When you come, here just stuff 30,000 USD in your underwear, no problem, really.