Your friend may consider opening an account with TransferWise. This can be done online. The TransferWise account could then be used to pull the money from the Wells Fargo account and then deposit it into an account here in the Philippines.
Agreed. I have never had a phone call or had to visit the bank to verify a transfer, even at the start. I used to use xoom.com but found you definitely save money by using transferwise. Only if they need money that quickly will I use xoom now, it is an instantaneous transfer and available immediately. Wells Fargo has a lot of fees, I looked into them as a bank because I have my mortgage with them, and their banking was very expensive. I would look elsewhere if I was him, depending on what i available in his area.