Does anyone know which local bank may have Canadian Dollar accounts? I have already checked BPI and BDO and no luck.Hate to think i will be forced to live here using ATM only and paying the fees. O-|
I think most of the major banks will offer a savings account (passbook) in most foreign currencies. Looks to me, according to these websites, you should have no problems. (Unless these banks in Dumaguete specifically don't offer it?). I will be going to BPI today, will ask them for you. https://www.bdo.com.ph/personal/accounts/canadian-dollar-savings-account Deposit Account Rates Metrobank
If you live here, you should open a peso account and make international wire transfers to that one from your canadian bank. Then you pick up a local ATM-card for your peso account and pay 0 fees to withdraw from your own banks ATM´s. If you use it in other banks ATM´s, the fee will be maybe 13 peso, but thats still very manageable. And also you can use your card in any ATM, not just the ones, which accept foreign issued Visa or Master cards. You will pay fees for the wire transfers, but it will surely be cheaper than paying 200 peso for each withdrawal, you make in an ATM + fees to your canadian bank. And it will also be cheaper - and much easier - than making wire transfers to an account in Canadian dollars and then having to change into peso here at a lousy exchange rate. You might have to change bank in Canada or open a supplementary account in another Canadian bank to find one, which will allow you to make wire transfers in PHP. I had to do that here in Denmark. But other than that its very easy. I pay about 1.000 peso to make a transfer in combined fees to my danish and philippine bank, and it takes 3 banking days.
My bank will make wire transfers no problem...but they charge $60 can for the wire...no matter the amount.Just trying to avoid all the charges..I hate paying to get my own money..lol. I want a canadian dollar acount so i can just deposit a check each month..wait for it to clear..and pay no fees at all...hopefully.
60 CAD is for sure a very high fee. Maybe another bank can do it cheaper? My danish bank charges 40 DKK, which is about 8 CAD, for a “do it yourself” transfer via their homebanking system. In top of that comes a 700 peso fee from my philippine bank, but that’s still only about 24 CAD in all. I think you will pay anyway, nomather what you do, since currency exchange is not free either. Maybe there is no visible fee to issue or deposit a check, but then they charge you via the exchange rate, when you withdraw funds and want to change them into peso. So that must be included in the calculation as well. When I first arrived in the Philippines, I was adviced to open a USD account, because wire transfers in peso were unreliable and could take several weeks. However it was hugely expensive and also tiring. The fee was around 50 USD, which mainly went to Citybank as an intermediary bank. And then I had to go to my bank in Dumaguete and fill out both withdraval and deposit slips to transfer the money to my peso account. So I was very happy, when I could close it down, because transfers in PHP had become both fast and reliable.
I asked the manager at the Perdices branch BPI today. He told me the Perdices branch is the only BPI in Dumaguete that offers Canadian dollar accounts. He said it is a branch by branch thing, and if you ask at the other branches, you will be told "no". But, at the Perdices branch, yes they do.....he even rattled off all the foreign currency accounts they offer at that branch.
Thanks Redneck..went and talked to Rey at BPI Perdice Branch.They will indeed open a Canadian Dollar account here...after i have my bank in Canada fax a letter stating I am a customer in good standing..lol.More fun in the Philippines.
Glad to hear that you got it all straightened out! You will want to open a peso account with debit card so you can easily access the money after you have converted to pesos.
