If you are an Australian and have a relationship with a girl from the Philippines, the issue of money will come up somewhere along the way. Ideally it should never be a major factor in your relationship, and if it is? Well, maybe it’s time to do a bit of reflecting.
One of the things I really liked about when I first met Mila was that money was literally never an issue. She never asked. I never offered. The first time I sent her any money was when we had visa application expenses. And these days I can and do trust her 100% when it comes to money issues, and I consider myself to be very fortunate.
Then again, she was an OFW in Hong Kong, and didn’t have the same needs that some Filipina ladies have. Life in the Philippines for poorer people, it can be very tough indeed. And there are not too many decent men who can be OK to be living a luxurious life whilst the woman they love is malnourished and the power has been cut off. You need to do what you have to do, as long as you know in yourself that money isn’t the main reason that you are together.
How to send money to the Philippines
There are three main methods of money remittance these days:
- Transfer via your bank
- Transfer using a remittance service (eg western union, orbitremit, worldremit, iremit)
- Or giving her an ATM card to use with an Australian account
And there are several factors you should consider when choosing your remittance method to the Philippines:
- Fees charged
- Exchange rates
- Speed
- Convenience
Fees
Fees add up! So you want to consider this very carefully. Some can be very reasonable, whilst others can be exorbitant.
I’ve done transfers directly from the bank before, and these can be around $35.00 a transaction. This may or may not be standard, so you want to check on this.
Remittance services are usually more reasonable, with most charging around $8.00 to $10.00 per transaction.
ATM cards (with card access to an Aussie account)? These used to be reasonable, however lately a strange new $25.00 a transaction charge has appeared on top of the approx. $8.00 per transaction that applied before. So $33.00 every time money is taken out.
Keep in mind very much that transaction fees apply every time you send money. So if you send $500.00 once, you pay the transaction fees once! If you send 10 x $50.00 amounts, you will pay it 10 times. If you were paying $30.00+ a pop, that becomes absurd very quickly.
So strongly consider getting your lady to open a bank account! Send the allowance once a month, and then she can withdraw as she needs.
Exchange rates
Again, these can vary. Some banks will have exchange rates up to P5.00 less than the remittance services. That means a $500.00 transaction may cost you more than $70.00 more. Again, it soon adds up over time. So this, along with fees, should be the first thing you look at!
Speed
There are money remittance services to the Philippines that will have that money there within minutes, literally. However you generally find that you pay for that either in fees or in exchange rates.
Again, note what I said about money maybe once a month into a bank account. One transaction, and an account with an ATM card…..that’s about as good as it gets. If money needs to be there within minutes, then chances are you are spending all your time “putting out fires”, and you will probably find yourself having to drop everything and going into panic-mode because your lady has gone into panic-mode. You need to ask yourself if this is how you want to do things.
For most people, a next-day services is fast enough.
Convenience
I used to send money years ago (different lady …… *cough*) with western union. It meant going down to the newsagent, filling out forms, then needing to text money transfer control numbers so she could pop down to the local western union agent to get cash out. It definitely wasn’t convenient. It can be done online these days, but it still means she has to go there and take out cash. Very useful in emergencies, I’ll give you that. But day to day, no it’s not convenient at all.
I still think a bank account and an ATM machine is the most convenient, as is organising the remittance online.
I haven’t been comparing rates and charges for years, so I can’t tell you what’s currently the best to use. I will say though that we’ve personally and professionally used OrbitRemit for the last 5 years, and have been completely happy with them. Rates are good. Fees are low. It takes minutes to organise a transfer, and the money ends up in the bank account every time without a hitch.
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Thanks Jeff! Great advice. Also good comment about money not being the basis of a relationship. I also enjoy a relationship with a Filipino lady I trust and who never asks for anything. Mate I send remittance via Western Union…and it is AUD$14 per send which is about 420 peso…and it is a 15 peso fee for picking up in Philippines. Not huge but over time it adds up. Will look into a bank account there. Thanks again Jeff, these articles really help. Cheers.
Glad I helped, Anthony. As I said there, we use OrbitRemit and have done so for years. Really simple to use, and works out well with the hip pocket.
Hi Anthony, I was using Western Union also. I could do it online easily which incurred a five to ten dollar fee (depending on amount). But the bank foreign exchange fees made it a little more. Western Union and I decided we didn’t like each other after a phone discussion with the Indian call center team, and a stern email regarding their lack of English skills.
Therefore I now use MoneyGram, via 7-Eleven, and couldn’t be happier. Eight dollars per transaction, and an exchange rate similar to the real one. AND, if I have any issues, I can talk to an Aussie, who has no problems understanding the English language 🙂
Hello Jeff, I am from Canada i have transfer funds through my bank to her bank account and takes about day and half, We just got married in April. So I guess my money is her monies now..
Yes, I use World Remit and have been reasonably happy with them. When I first started with them over a year ago, they were frequent with discounts and 50% off days, but that has dried to a trickle, I suppose as they think I’m a regular now. Will investigate Orbit Remit on your suggestion. Will never use Western Union again – apart from exhorbitant fees, I had an unfortunate instance where after years of making them rich, they decided (or rather their security management company behind them) to refuse to make a payment as I was suddenly seen as a security risk. This caused much problems in the Philippines. They really made me feel like a criminal money launderer with no chance of appeal or discussion or anything. They later on invited me to use them again, but the damage was done and I took my business elsewhere and have had no such problems since. In my humble opinion, WU are too big for their boots and too greedy. Thanks for the article.
Hi Jeff. Western Union is the most expensive I find. Only good for fast cash if really required. They can be unreliable at times also. Forex World is very good for sending to PI bank accounts generally within a couple of hours plus give as good an exchange rate as I can find anywhere & its $A8 per transaction no matter the amount (We bought a house on PI sending through Forex!).
For cashcards such as Globe GCASH which is actually for my own money when in PI (These phone accounts can hold up to 100,000PHP. Smart have a similar service. Amazing the telcos in AU dont have offer these terrific services), To load GCASH MHITS are great always using the latest & very competitive Reuters exchange rate & @ $5 1% of the transaction amount up to $A500. GCASH is great to get cash from any bank ATM for 20php per transaction plus also for paying bills, shopping & sending load to any Globe phone & at 20% discount compared to buying load elsewhere.
How much money is required in the bank before you can get a tourist visa?
Money in the bank for the applicant or the sponsor? And not that simple either, sorry. That’s only one factor amongst many. Suggest you get an assessment done.