Suggestion Best Posts in Thread: Who can suggest an above average bank in Dumaguete?

Most welcome. I usually see it on the 3rd to 5th of the month depending on if there is a weekend or holiday. I did research many years ago and found most monies coming into the PI had to go through the BSP (Banko Sentral ng Philippines) which is just like our Federal Reserve. That's been my experience though. Yours may be different due to the fact your Military Pension is deposited through Mellon Bank and transferred to the PI. I believe that is different. As far as I know a bank to bank transfer doesn't go through the central bank (BSP). Though I am not certain.

 

Hi Dave: Thanks for your comments on VA disability. I can only speak knowledgably about my military pension. I never receive my pension on the 1st, which I attributed to the time difference. In America, I noticed that my pension would usually post about 05:00 hours (east coast time), which is after BPI closes here. Note: Military pensions must go into a BPI passbook account so I am not able to view/access the money online. Whenever I showed up at BPI the morning of the 2nd my pension was available. I cannot guarantee that is always the case, but it was the case whenever I happened to go to the bank on the morning of the 2nd. THANKS for helping me clarify this important point!

 

I am not sure about DFAS but I have VA disability and it gets deposited into BPI. Only problem is they don't show it on 1st of the month. Banco Sentral Ng Philippines holds all monies coming through the banking system for a day or two before they release it to the local banks so I usually get the money on 3rd of month unless a weekend and then maybe not until 5th of the month. Something you should be aware of. I don't believe this happens in bank to bank transfers just monies that go through the central bank here.

 

Your list is accurate, but no need to go to Hong Kong. BPI can set up a USD passbook account to receive your DFAS direct deposit. I have been using this process for years and the money appears in my account here as quickly as it would appear if DFAS was sending the money to a bank in the U.S. Well, actually, DFAS does send it to a BPI correspondent bank in the U.S. -- and it immediately appears in my BPI account here. Magic! :-)

 

Hi nwlivewire:

Sounds like you have an arrangement that works for you.

To answer your question, no, the sister bank is not PNP in Los Angles.

For U.S. military pensions, the Defense Finance & Accounting Agency (DFAS) will make International Direct Deposits to 42 countries, but the Philippines is NOT on the list. So, the workaround is to give DFAS a routing number & account number for the bank in America that has an agreement with BPI to seamlessly pass through the money so that my pension immediately appears in my BPI account here.

I set this up years ago & I do not recall the name of BPI's affiliated bank in America, but I just texted my old BPI branch manager asking for that bank's name. I also asked her if this works with social security deposits & private pensions. I will let you know what she says.

Oh, and I handled it in my BPI branch manager's office in the Philippines -- no trip to America was necessary for my situation. It was as simple as completing & signing a new (single page) DFAS direct deposit form -- my BPI branch manager processed the form for me.

As far as FDIC insurance goes, I am not concerned about that. The FDIC only has enough reserves to cover about 2% of the money they are insuring so if more than a few banks fail the FDIC will run out of money. For people that are expecting a financial meltdown in America (people like me), which will likely be worse than the 2008 financial crisis, their preference is to keep most of their money outside the country. But, this topic of impending capital controls is outside the scope of this posting so I'll stop there......

 

Dear Frodo:

When you write "sister bank in America", are you referring to Philippine National Bank (PNB) in Los Angeles, CA?

Because so far, PNB is the only Philippine Bank I can find on the West Coast that has a brick and mortar, full-service building where I can open a Philippine bank account here on the West Coast BEFORE I arrive to the PI. PNB in the USA IS NOT USA FDIC insured.

PNB also has transfer capability with Wells Fargo (USA/FDIC insured). I have a pension going into Wells Fargo (FDIC insured), but once I open up a PNB account in Los Angeles, I can then set up money tranfers from Wells Fargo to PNB BEFORE I depart.

The exchange rate is also VERY good doing it this way.

BUT, all the accounts have to be set up PRIOR to departure, and the FIRST money transfer from Wells Fargo to PNB Los Angeles HAS TO BE DONE IN PERSON at the Wells Fargo branch I have my account in. And that first money transfer has to be done BEFORE I depart.

Once I arrive in the Philippines and set up a local PNB account at PNB Dumaguete, then my PNB Los Angeles account will transfer my money from the Los Angeles PNB account to my local Dumaguete account.

So far, this is the only "workaround" I have found in the USA where I can keep my money FDIC insured, but still get some money pesos/USD to live on while I'm in Dumaguete. And, I maximize my exchange rates AND avoid excessive bankster "middle men" fees.

I fly to Los Angeles next month to open a USA-based PNB account.

Will let you know how this REALLY works when I try it.

V/R,
nwlivewire

 

I am very satisfied with BPI main branch in Dumaguete. Friendly & very customer oriented.

They have a good app for iPads & iPhones -- maybe Andriod phones too.

If you can afford a Gold ATM card (P500,000 total on deposit with the bank) then you do not have to queue for service. Plus, you get the preferred real-time currency exchange rate. When I exchange dollars for pesos the exchange rate is only 10-15 centavos less that what I am seeing on the Internet -- I consider that a reasonable fee for the bank's services.

Even with a normal ATM card the USD/PHP exchange rate is only about 20 centavos less than the best rate on the Internet.

For retired military people BPI can arrange for your monthly pension check to be electronically deposited in their sister bank in America and then it immediately shows up in your BPI account here. I imagine it works that way with disability income and social security income too (but I have not tried that).

 

We use the PS Bank next to Palwa Hotel and get EXCELLENT service. However we applied for a car loan there about a year ago and did not pickup on the call for the approval and had the same results you had. They would not approve the loan but they wouldn't again either. Paid cash for the car although I was simply trying to establish credit with the loan.