Sending money to Dumaguete

ATMS not to be trusted

I am not saying this does not work for you. But you will find multiple web reports of atms not spitting out money and, in some cases, the person never getting the money even though their account was debited. This has happened with major banks such as BPI and others. IMNSHO, trusting atms in the Phil is like trusting anything else to work here, it often does not and foreigners wind up paying a steep price.

 

It's definitely true! It is what I use. Like an idiot, the 1st time I used it in Dumaguete I made a mistake and had to make multiple withdrawals all on the same day and got hit with multiple ATM fees. No problem, as after a month ALL the fees were credited back to my account. The fees are credited back to your account monthly.

 

I get hit with various fee's totaling P460+ for a P5000 withdrawal at BPI...wtf?......O-|....I'm going to go see Chucky next time in the U.S.(Sept)

 

I finally went with moneygram. Cost $21 to send $1500 in dollars. The services that pay-out in pesos were all terrible deals because of the exchange rate they offered. I appreciated getting everyone's input on this, thanks!

 

Dong, I sent money monthly to my nephew through Xoom using a US checking account and only cost me $5.99. You can send up to $2999.00 for the same fee. Here's the Xoom links https://www.xoom.com/philippines;jsessionid=12B2188FAC964DEE11E4A89B6F1F6A99. I have been using them for over two years and has not had any problem.

 

Steve4910,

My hubby have been with NAVYFCU for over 30 years now and never heard of and never been credited with up to $10 dollars on ATM fees monthly. Let us know where and how were you able to get the credits coz that would save us money since San Antonio, TX only have three NAVYFCU banks with ATMs and have to frequently withdraw money from other ATM's with fees up to $2.50 each time. Appreciate any info.

 

The only thing with Xoom is that they control the exchange rate which is always lower than the on going rate. What I do is set an allotment via a checking account with Philippine National Bank for free.

 

The key is to get it paid out in U.S. dollars instead of pesos, and get your money exchanged elsewhere at a more favorable rate. It's not the upfront fee that costs you, it is the exchange rate!

 

What, pray tell, do you mean by "set an allotment via a checking account"?