A bank account is very important for OFW since it will be the account where the money will be sent from overseas. Opening a new bank account can be difficult since you do not realize which bank is the best for your needs. There are really a lot of banks in the Philippines so choosing one is not easy. In this posts, you can learn which bank to use to remit money to the Philippines.
1. Banco de Oro
Banco de Oro or BDO placed the highest in the Philippine banks for OFW. In 2009, BDO was chosen by the Central Bank of the Philippines as the No. 1 bank among OFW remittances. It has many services and products cater especially to OFW such as the Kabayan Savings account which can be applied by an OFW with P50 initial deposit and no maintaining balance. BDO has also other types of banking like Internet, telephone and ATM banking.
2. Bank of the Philippine Islands
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) was cited by Finance Asia the most desirable cash management bank in the Philippines for 2009. I openly used BPI for my money transfer to the Philippines. I think BPI is one of the best in terms of customer care and quick in answering to client’s difficulties.
3. Metrobank Philippines
Metrobank is a famous bank in the Philippines and registered as a public company in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Last year, it belongs to the best five remittance bank of OFW. It has a wide network of branches not only in the Philippines but also in other countries such as US, European countries, Korea and Middle East countries. Many OFW chooses Metrobank because of its good customer care and many branches all over the nation.
4. Chinabank
Ranking as fourth largest premiere bank by market capitalization in the Philippines. Chinabank is emerging as one of the chosen banks of OFW and some Filipinos. With its wide banking services through its multitude branches and ATM machine across the country, Chinabank is going accessible nationwide. It has online, ATM and mobile banking which you should use to send money to other banks with very low fee.
5. Union Bank of the Philippines
In the Philippines, Union Bank places seventh in the largest banks in terms of assets. It is a public bank included in Philippine Stock Exchange. Union Bank is an an alliance among the companies and government institution in the country. With its wide array of services, many people and OFW see Union Bank a good choice for banking and remittance purposes. You can send money to the Philippines using Union Bank by PayPal, through remittance partners and by bank to bank wire transfer.
Selecting a bank for money transfer purposes depends on your goals. Essentially all banks cater same products but you need to determine those which are customer-oriented and responds to client’s problems quickly.