How To Best Access Your Money Overseas
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
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When you use the ATM does the bank give you the exact rate of the exchange?
Thanks for the info.. opened a fidelity account and got refunded all the fees👍🏾😀.. keep up the good work😃
The best way to access your money is to deposit all of it into a bar girl's bank account from Angeles city and track her down when you need it.
Now that's smart. No hassle with opening a bank account,Acr card,no srrv,ATM card lost, stolen, skimmed, transaction fee. She's local,readable available,trustworthy,never offline and mabey Peso delivery to your place with a sandwich.
GENIUS
We all pay for it one way or the other!!
Heavy Coke Addict Hahahaha
Speaking from experience, HCA? : )
Did something similar in the States. After a hard night, the guest relations officer wanted to get some sleep, so she gave me my money to deposit in her bank while she slept.
When I was in Thailand I was taking out $1000 USD at a time using my Charles Schwab debut card, and with Charles Schwab all fees are returned back to me.
Which ATMs process a 30,000 baht withdrawal?
@@kelbat1961 Schwab has a $1000 daily limit. Just stand there and make multiple withdrawals depending on the ATM transaction limit. Txn fees refunded in your account.
how many years you doing this ? do they closing due to low funds or no trades ,read on another forum somone had issue but no experience
"You can just put one or two thousand in there you don't have to transfer your entire bank account in there"
Me: That is my entire bank account.😞
So nice to have some very good positive helpful information. Unlike one YT channel that went on a one hour drunken rant out of Vietnam this morning spewing hate and lies. While asking his cult like followers to to flag and harass other channels he deemed unfit. And this guy claims great content. What did i gain from his channel in less than five minutes ? First off a headache and realization that some will do anything for their own seriously flawed souls. While many channels like yours provide solid information that is helpful to many on various subjects with a positive rant free style. Keep up the good work Henry i have always enjoyed your channel.
like any other trade or craft, you have those who put real thought and effort into what they do. and then you have the hacks who offer nothing of value.
i believe in the free-market. i believe and trust that intelligent people know the difference between quality and lameness. it reflects in the YT views and growth (or decline) of a channel.
BS and mindless fluff only entertains a juvenile mind. quality people may check in just to see how the slow train-wreck has further declined. much like watching a drunken clown piss on itself in an alley. but apart from that, nothing of value is expected and certainly no level of respect is given to mindless rants.
we all know... bitter, angry rants require zero talent. one can find that on any barstool, 24/7. nothing special to be seen there.
Interesting.... you hate the guy so much, u wish him dead. I never would want to be your friend or relative.
I have used Remitly to do a transfer from my US account to a trusted friend’s Philippine bank account. Been doing it for years. Works very well. The keyword here is ‘Trusted’.
How much is the transfer fee? And is there a limit? Thanks.
Reekay, you’ve hit every nail perfectly on the head except for “which credit union” ...and the unequivocal answer is: SDFCU. Why? They explicitly welcome Americans with an overseas address. They FedEx cards to your foreign location for free. No ATM fees, no fees for inbound wires, low fees for outbound wires, free ACH in & out, $15/mo. reimbursement of ATM owner fees with Advantage checking ($2000 min balance), co-op ATM & co-op branching (which means access to brick and mortar branches anywhere in the US, even Guam - if want to withdraw some fresh, crisp 100’s) and finally, they have a 2% cash back credit card with no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee. Anyone can become a member by joining the American Consumer Council instantly and free using the the promo code “consumer” (SDFCU does not even check that you did).
This is exactly the information that I have been looking for. Thanks! Great video!
Thank you, Henry. It’s good to know.
Thank you. I’m going to try and do this. Awesome video
Great info Reekay, thank you...
Thank you for the education, very useful.
Wow! Thank you!!
I have both my S.S payment as well as my pensions all directly deposited in different U.S.Credit Unions....and transfer the money from those accts to my Charles Schwab debit card because Schwab refunds all transaction fees at the end of the month, which makes their card FREE to use.....then I just withdraw at ATM's here in PH........I have no need for a local account here in PH.....
@mistaeric It is always good to have 2 checking accounts and 2 credit cards (and a grand or two of cash). Not only can you lose the card, but the chip or stripe may break, or the card may expire. The backup cards are just for emergencies like that, so you don't care so much about higher fees on them. Banks will send you replacement cards if they break/lost/expire.
How do you replace it once it expires? Will they mail your new card to the Philippines?
USAA also puts any fees back in your account at the end of the month and as far as I have seen they give you almost top range exchange rates. Have had zero issues with them since I have lived in the Philippines. If your card expires they will ship it FedEx and only activate it once you call in personally and give the secure password that you set up when you ordered your new card.
Love USAA! I have never had any issues with that bank in S Korea or Philippines. They have a huge assortment of financial products also and cheap auto insurance.
That's great to know. I have a USAA credit card and I knew they don't charge foreign transaction fees but I didn't know they would reimburse any ATM fees and allow you to extract foreign currencies (i.e. PH Pesos) at a fair exchange rate. I'll have to call them to confirm this because that will be a great solution for accessing money in the Philippines.
excellent. thanks a million my friend.
Great information. Transfer-wise is the best way to go to transfer money. Though I do not see that you need to use it if you are transferring money from your regular bank to a brokerage account. Usually you can transfer money directly to or from your brokerage account and bank account.
Excellent note you can manage your transferwise card on the app freeze it etc
Thank you so much
Very informative video, very well done. Thank you! New subscriber here, checking out a few of your videos. Liking them a lot.
Just subbed sir,great vlog.
I use Charles Schwab debit checking account. I was in the Philippines a week ago. Had no problem using it. They reimburse the ATM fees. Remember Sez Style? He used to use Xoom. One time they delayed his money transfer. I think he was out in the province where he tried to pick up some money he sent to himself. Western Union is also big on flagging any unusual transfers. But Charles Schwab bank know people with their card most likely travel international so not a big deal. I used that same card at Robinson's to buy a pair of shorts. I took three shorts with me but one ripped while getting into a jeepney., That was one of the funniest experiences I had in the Philippines.
Fidelity just announced this past week they are also waiving all commissions on stock trades as well matching Schwab's move to commission free trades. :)
There is an option for everyone. If you don't have access to fidelity, charles swab or a credit union you can always use transferwise.
Every two or three months I use a wire transfer to move money from a US bank where my pensions are deposited to my Bangkok bank account for $35 US. When I need money I go to my BKK bank with my bankbook and withdraw whatever cash I need. No cards are tied to the Bangkok bank account and I never use atms. I only use a debit card from my US bank when I travel. No chance of debit/credit card fraud or losing the card and transactions are simple and kept to a minimum.
These are great tips .... for Americans.
Navy Federal Credit Union will let you use ATM’s in the Philippines. What ever fees you accumulate will total up to $20 refunded at the end of the month.
NFCU is a decent option, if you or a family member have military service that will get you in. However, SDFCU has a slight edge (in terms of lower fees and higher cash back - plus anyone can join). If you are a genuine military retiree and travel around the region, you might benefit from access to NFCU branches and ATMs at restricted locations around Asia. One such location exists here in Singapore and a military retiree friend of mine got me in once... picked up some good deals at the PX store as well.
Great info
Glad you think so!
On a similar subject; if you're ever in Cambodia & need to have money sent, via Western Union, impress upon the foreign sender how important it is to have all information on the sending & receiving side correct & the same, especially having the receiver's name EXACTLY match what your passport says, and; if in sihanoukville, do not use the Western Union by the Golden Lions circle - if it is still there - because they don't like to give money to anybody(not an exaggeration!).
Henry, your suggestions are very much appreciated & will serve me well in preparing for my return to SE Asia!
According to Transferwise website, their debit MasterCard cannot be used in Vietnam or Cambodia if the card was issued in the U.S. - no reference to Thailand.
Not every credit union is as you describe. I have a CU account for federal employees and my statement always includes “international transfer” charges of 2 to 5 bucks for each ATM usage, so while it’s not the full ATM fee, it’s still a percentage.
I always use transferwise.
I've used the Schwab account for my 4 trips to the Philippines Reekay and it worked great. Got all those atm fees back at the end of the month. I also have a credit union debit and it works the same way. I use Transferwise also thanks to you Reekay!😊👍
Just transfer funds bank to bank - electronic funds transfer or ACH. Transferwise could be used to send money from a home country bank to a foreign bank account. Refund of transaction fees - they will make their money off the exchange rate.
You can also set up pre-paid debit card and fund that from the main bank account (ACH) - that could be the carry around card; though the card still may have foreign transaction fees associated with it.
Nice to know that there there are CUs that won't charge fees everytime you push the atm keys. Mine will...
I like your information will look into setting up a Schwab account
Never had any issues with Transferwise. Under 30mins money is always UK to Phil. One time my own Bank stopped a transaction & did a security check. Having some kind of second option/back up plan would make sense I guess.
I believe Amazing Philippines advised if you must use Xoom, transfer the amount in USD to USD and then use a local money exchanger to get a better rate. That way you only pay the flat fee.
Xoom is the easiest and can be picked up all over the Philippines within minutes. If you like to travel in the Philippines, you can easily get your money in most provinces.
westernunion shuts your account if you out of country too long, and remitly. They did it for me, better to send to a friend instead of your name.
Great video Reekay even though most of it was geared to US Nationals ,will check Transfer wise ,,,western union arc exspensive and after sending money to friends for 2 years in the Philippines,suddenly they locked me out and I guess like you said for whatever reason they flagged me and blocked me
Can TransferWise work in reverse...that is, transferring money from a Philippines bank account to a US bank account?
I typically use one main credit card for everything.
That card is tied to my Applewatch and iPhone.
I spend mostly on credit and repay the balance. This makes it easy to track my expenses.
I always bring a spare credit card for emergency use and keep it with my passport in a safe.
If I were going to stay in Philippines long term, I might open an account here in NYC with PNB 🇵🇭.
However, from what I can remember, I had no international fees on my bank debit card.
I do business tax deductions on whatever fees I do have.
I managed to open an eon bank account in philippines as a tourist. Other banks would not let me. So far its working well.
I have heard when I lived in the Philippines that eon banking was foreigner friendly.
I personally prefer Remitly but Xoom never failed me. Remitly usually beats every other remittance co transfer and exchange rate and they never failed me yet. My Western Union account got shut down years ago for unknown reasons as you said, just because... But those are only alternatives. The best way is as you stated or if its a short term trip (less than 2 months), bring cash and exchange it at the local street money changers. Their no fee low skimming exchange rates are usually unbeatable. You may have to hunt around a little to find the best money changer rates. And I'm talking about USD, you may have no other choice but to go to a legit exchange for other countries money.
I use Western Union as my backup works good for me I have it linked to my bank account in the U.S
Good stuff and right on point. Very helpful and informative video info. I have a Fidelity CMA linked to my brokerage investment accounts and also use a PayPal business card. All I need and I usually have $2000 in petty cash for every 2 weeks in the country. Always can put restaurant meals on my PayPal card.
Hello Reekay,,, now I have CHASE with my Schwab account attached for transfers and it seems that this should be all I need besides a Credit Card for applicable payments. Would a TransferWise account be redundant??
I admit, if CHASE goes down,, I don't have much of a backup such as Xoom.
OK,, I read further and see that the TransferWise can be a sort of safety net backup. If I decide to do more traveling, I will add this to my travel program. Thanks for all you do!!!
Does TransferWise charge a fee to use their atm card and reimburse the bank's atm fee ? Thank you
What about transactions via Western Union and its prepaid card?
Do you know or have any experience with that?
I use schwab bank and they reimburse atm fees. Awesome bank.
I use Charles Schwab and I love getting back all my atm fees. The worst atm I used was in Cambodia that only let me take out 20 bucks at a time and I needed like 200 I'm so glad I got all those fees payed back.
Schwab is great for US folks
Solid Info, Reekay! Your info on Timo accounts has been great for VN life, and TranferWise also works well with the Timo account. I have a TIAA checking account that refunds ATM fees anywhere but does charge a small (
A few years ago, I moved all my monies out of TIAA-CREF because their mutual fund fees went way up. They used to have some of the lowest fees in the country. I guess when you get so big, you end up doing what the big boys do too. The Schwab account rebates ALL fees.
Wells Fargo is (almost) always the worst. Only thing worse are Philippines branches. You deposit in one branch - but it's not available at other locations. ACR-I card is useful, but would be more useful if not for that.
If you use the Fidelity debit card in a foreign ATM, there is no fee (they reimburse you for the foreign ATM fee at the time of the withdrawal) and you get the current exchange rate. If you use the debit card in a foreign store, then you get charged a 1% foreign transaction fee. I use my Fidelity debit card ONLY for ATM withdrawals to get local currency for no cost. There is a $525 daily (US Eastern time) ATM limit on the debit cards set by Fidelity.
BB&T is worse than WF! $12 foreign ATM fee + foreign exchange fee + the fee the ATM charged is included with the withdrawal.
Transferwise debt card not available in many countries
Many of the debit cards here you can't use Amazon or buy a flight ticket online.
Thailand is now 220 baht for atm withdrawals or $7.21
Wow. Every time you use an ATM in Thailand the charge is 7 bucks? That's outrageous!
Your ways are best. I just use Western Union app. And send myself from my phone.
noooo get a charles schwab 0 fees or they charge you at atm but charles pays it back
Spot on again. I opened my Schwab account back in the States before I left. I just opened it online and went to the local Schwab office and made the initial deposit. Like you said, make sure to tell them of your overseas travel plans ahead of time. If you make a purchase with the card online, sometimes they will block the purchase, especially if it's a purchase online. (i.e., Alibaba, Lazada, airline tickets to different countries. hotels in different countries, etc.) Better safe than sorry. Just call the number on the back of the card 24 hours a day and someone will walk you through the problem. Just answer a few security questions and your good to go. The only downside with the call is that you might have to pay for the call since you can't call the collect-call number if you don't have access to a land-line. I use Viber Out Call. You pay either $5 or $10 for a bunch of cheap minutes. More than enough to make several calls to customer service lines. If you have an international calling feature with your cell provider, you're good to go.
I also have a Federal Credit Union account, but unfortunately, they charge me ATM fees and don't rebate me the fees. Check with your specific credit union.
Like You, I have been using Xoom for 5 or 6 years. Great service and the money is made available immediately. Just go to one of the hundreds of different banks or retail locations listed to pick up your money. Bring your passport and make sure to send your full name (first, middle and last names) as listed in your passport. If you're sending to someone else, make sure to send it in the name of their ID. I have all three of my financial institutions registered with them and I switch off between them when needed.
Here in Vietnam, you are allowed to open a bank account and the Social Security Admin will accept it for your monthly deposits. Just give the SSA your routing number and account number, plus whatever other information they request.
Losing your bank card(s) is a real pain in the butt. It will take about 3 weeks for a replacement. Having multiple cards and the Xoom account are real life savers.
I never telephone Schwab. Use the website, you can chat with a representative.
Another option is simply do bank to bank transfer (which would require you to have a bank account in the Philippines). Having a US dollar account (I assume it would the same for other currencies) and also a peso account, means you could transfer dollar acct to dollar acct, and then when the exchange rate is good - change dollars to pesos. This should be no cost, if you can wait (write a check from your US Bank to the Philippine bank - then wait 30 days (or so) for that to clear (most banks will charge a fee for wire or ACH transfer, and some banks, US and Phil, are squirrely about overseas ACH ). All in all, this approach is probably best for those looking for a long term strategy.
Reekay
If I set up a BDO bank account here in the US,. Then go to the Philippines, will I have to meet all the same requirements all over again??
Why do you need the Fidelity account and the Transfer Wise account? Can't you just use the Transfer Wise by itself since they will give you a debit card?
you don't 'need' both. either one is fine. however, having both means you now have 2 debit cards to access your money. this way you can leave the cards linked to your main accounts in a safe place, rather than carrying them around to possibly get lost or stolen.
the fidelity card has no-limit on atm fee reimbursements. the transferwise card has a $250 cap per month of no-fee atm-charges, but then charges a 2% fee over the $250 the remainder of that month.
Thanks much!
I send money to my wife so no red flags with my bank or Western Union been sending her money for 10 year before I went there
I remember when the best exchange rate for cash in the Phils was actually on the black market. Never mind ATM machines. You guys never had it so easy!
? It still is...
in 2003 when i went to phill's i got a citi bank account and is worked fine ?????
Why cant I just have a bank account in a american bank with branches in the philipines, for example Union bank or Wells Fargo which is linked to BDO ( bank de oro )
I considered TransferWise, until I started reading all the negative comments...As with any service, be very careful
Xoom is good if want to send us dollars to philippines and receive us dollars and then find the best exchange
Fidelity does charge 1% for foreign withdrawals (from conditions for cash management account): "...4. All Fidelity ATM withdrawal fees will be waived for your Fidelity® Cash Management Account. In addition, your account will automatically be reimbursed for all ATM fees charged by other institutions while using a Fidelity® Visa® Gold Check Card linked to your account at any ATM displaying the Visa®, Plus®, or Star® logos. The reimbursement will be credited to the account the same day the ATM fee is debited from the account. Please note that there is a foreign transaction fee of 1% that is not waived, which will be included in the amount charged to your account...".
I contacted Western Union and there didn't seem to be a problem sending money to yourself. I did notice there was an area of the site saying "For Travellers Who Want to Send Money". Maybe if you use that section of the site for sending money to yourself there is less of a chance of your account being flagged. Transferwise seems to be the best option for me.
If you use the Fidelity debit card in a foreign ATM, there is no fee (they reimburse you for the foreign ATM fee at the time of the withdrawal) and you get the current exchange rate. If you use the debit card in a foreign store, then you get charged a 1% foreign transaction fee. I use my Fidelity debit card ONLY for ATM withdrawals to get local currency for no cost. There is a $525 daily (US Eastern time) ATM limit on the debit cards set by Fidelity.
Hello sir. This video will be helpful. Im traveling to Philippines in a week. Could you tell me will i need to bring a special power unit for my American cpap machine?
check out the unit's power rating, it's likely on the cord or a sticker on the unit. if it says it is 110/220 compatible, you're good to go. otherwise, you'd want to get a "step-down converter". they do have them in the PH hardware stores. but the two that i bought didn't work long before burning out fuses every few days. so if you 'do' need one, take it with you.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Thanks i just looked at it. I should be good on voltage. I like the videos. Very informative
You just get a forex travel card .. no ATM fees anywhere in the world
Where can I cash a U S paper check in Viet nam.
Love your videos Reekay what is the best way and the safest way to access my US bank account online.
VPN
I use a starling bank account when abroad no charge for using it plus free atm withdrawals and best bank rate on the day
Hi Paul, when you use your Starling Bank debit card for ATM withdrawals in the Philippines I guess that you will however still be charged withdraw fees by the local bank and that Starling Bank do not refund you those fees?
Maybe someone asked this already but is there a set-up fee to use (Start) with Transferwise, Fidelity Bank or Schwab Bank?
no set-up fee to start an account. with transferwise and fidelity, no opening balance required. you can fund it later.
bit.ly/transferwisereekay
I have 3 FIDELITY cards and I can get $500 from each per day. I go to Banks that do not charge a fee. Money is dispensed in $20 denominations, so if a fee is charged, I can only get $480.
How do you open 3 fidelity cma accounts?
I lost my card my first week in the Philippines. Deactivated it immediately and ordered a replacement. I was still able to send money through Western Union but that seems to get complicated over time. With both Western Union and Moneygram they started wanting pictures of my passport ID. Oh and their fees are high anyway.
It’s a lot less painful to use the cell phone apps than trying to use the websites. And a cell phone with a thumb reader and a security code, like an iPhone is a pretty good investment. Good idea about Charles Schawb account. Thanks.
What is the maximum amount you can withdrawal in one visit at the ATM in the P.I.? I am guessing their fee regardless of bank is 200 pesos..so if they will only let you withdrawal 10K pesos per transaction and up to 50K per day..that will be $20 in ATM fees if I wanted to pull lets say $1000 for a trip..plus your bank charges. Any insight?
So you have your Xoom account with money in, and your in ph how do you get the money out in local cash?
Peso transactions can be picked up at Banco de Oro (BDO), Metrobank, Cebuana Lhuillier, LBC, MLhuillier, RCBC, SM Malls, Tambunting, Villarica, and rural banks.
Hello reekay how are you? I have a question what's the best place in vietnam to exchange money?
I'm not Reekay but in Ho Chi Minh City you get the best exchange rate at gold shops. I use one next to Ben Than sp? Market.
So I can use my local credit union card at any ATM in PI?
yes, if it has the MC or VISA logo on it. but not if it's only valid for local credit union atm's.
Just makes sure you access the list of fees for your CU before you do. Not every CU has attractive terms/conditions, and sometimes you may need to upgrade to a higher account level for reimbursement of ATM fees.
Yes you can. I have used 2 different bank debit cards at mall ATM's. However like Henry said you will pay up to $5 a pop. Oh and most of the ATM's limit the amount you can withdraw so they make more fee charges from you. I have been limited to 5000 pesos numerous times (about $100)
Do these applies in UK
Transferwise is a UK company, so that piece of the advice applies equally in the UK
but if their exchange rate is low, then it could cost you more than the withdrawal fee
typically about $6.50usd to move about $1,000usd. very low flat-rate.
Yeah transferwise I know...but the other alternatives are only for Americans right?
someone here in the comments mentioned alternate banks for australia. also see what a credit union is offering in your home country for reimbursed fees abroad. or use the transferwise borderless-account debit card abroad.
So say your ss check goes into a schawb account set up for overseas use. Your in VN. When you use the atm in VN it will be dispensed in dong .
when you do a withdrawal at an atm in vietnam, yes.. it will come out in local VND (dong).
Also a exchange charge of how much.
@@robertmaddelena7890 Your Schwab account doesn't have to be for overseas use only. Simpler to just have one account, Schwab, for checking and investments, saving, IRA. ATMs in every country only dispense the local currency. With Schwab, there is no foreign exchange fee (unlike Fidelity), your ATM fee is refunded, and the exchange rate is the one you see at XE.com, on the day the bank processes your withdrawal. When you are overseas, you can pay your bills online from your bank, so carry a laptop, or setup auto bill pay.
Great video and information. I was wondering if you could address the best way to get your important mail from the states when LIVING in the Philippines? That has been my greatest struggle living here. I’ve tried different services but they charge a lot of money just to send the mail to me. The USPS to the Philippines postal service (if you can even call it that) has been a horrible nightmare!!! 5-6 weeks to get a package after paying for express service. I am at a loss anymore and would appreciate any advice. Thank you!!!
Go online find US Global Mail in Houston, TX. I haven't used them yet but I will change over soon. If you are in PI you can text me at 0999 689 9059 for more info
I guess I don't understand why I don't just transfer money from my bank to Fidelity. That seems like the easy way to do it.
yes, you can always do that. but having a balance in Transferwise, and having the TWise debit card.. means you can use that and keep your main debit/credit cards stored away safely... using the TWise card on a daily basis.
I think I have read all the comments but I continue to see the same odd references for Transferwise and foreign ATM use. While I know that Transferwise is excellent to use as a foreign exchange site between bank accounts, I keep seeing that Schwab/Fidelity clearly reimburse foreign ATM fees but I only see the statement that Transferwise does not charge up to $250US. This makes it unclear if Transferwise actually reimburses foreign ATM fees or not. Rather, it seems like Transferwise simply does not charge a fee on their side until you withdraw more than $250US. With foreign ATM usage fees being ridiculous, unless Transferwise reimburses those charges, it's not worth it to use their card in a foreign ATM. Can anyone give a yes or no if using a Transferwise card in a foreign ATM will get your (ex.)$7 ATM fee reimbursed by Transferwise?
the transferwise is good for bank-to-bank transfers and having the debit card as an extra back-up card. should your fidelity, CU or schwab card get lost.
but for atm-fee reimbursements, the transferwise card is not the first or best choice.
Do you know if you can sign up for a Schwab account from the Philippines Reekay?
if you use a VPN set to usa.. and you have a mailing address in the usa to receive the debit card.. yes. and then have the debit card shipped to you via DHL, FEDEX or LBC. do not send it by standard mail.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Ah that globe down again here in Dumaguete anyways I don't have any address in the USA anymore.I wonder what else Ican do ATM fees about $60 dollars a month thanks friend.
Thsts all well and good if your from the U.S.A. but im from Australia i have been living in philippines now for nearly 6 years the bank i with draw from over here they allow you to take out 20,000 00pecos a day the other banks allow only 10,000.00 pecos a day i gert charged each transaction nearly $29 Australian dollars. Thats a lot of money for me a pensioner ..is there anybother way i can save by not getting charged those high fees i asked centrelink who pay my pension but they dont put money into overseas accounts..
Try using ING direct. I know they refund overseas ATM fees. Get in contact with them and see what they say
For Australians use forexworld.com. you transfer to forexworld from your Australian bank account on line. Fee $8AUD. They give you a BDO ATM card. You can pull up to 50,000 pesos a day free. So keep your pension in Australia, if the government sends it to a local phillipines bank account the exchange will be poor. Use XE.com app to compare forexworld daily published rate 9am to 6pm EST time. Reliable and efficient.
Can you not just link your main bank account to your Fidelity or Schwab account and transfer money that way and cut out the middleman? Also does anyone have any experience with the Amex serve card in the Philippines?
some banks have a charge for wiring money, but tranferwise isn't a necessity unless that's the case. but having a transferwise account does serve the purpose of being a main-card carried and used daily since it's only attached to a portion of your money, not your main account.
this way, if the card is stolen, you have your main cards as a backup and any losses are limited to what's in the transferwise account.
When you send your self money with transferwise, and you can not have a bank account yet because you do not have the Acr card, where do you snd the money?
I am confused on that part.
the money is 'held' in the transferwise 'borderless account'. using the transferwise MasterCard, you can access your money from any ATM in the PH.. without opening a PH bank account.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Why not just use the Schwab checking account debit card. I was reading about it, no atm fees and no foreign currency exchange fees. It would seem to me if you have your money deposited there, it would be safer and easy to access. Plus you will cut out the middle man. Please educate me if I am missing something. I have learned a lot from watching your videos. Looking forward to learning much more in the future.
financially, there is no 'need' for the transferwise account, except that if you get the 'borderless account' along with the transferwise debit MasterCard... you can leave your other cards in a safe place (which are attached to your main accounts, larger balances) and only carry around the transferwise card, which is attached to less money.
@@Lifebeyondthesea I understand what you are saying. And please correct me if my reasoning is incorrect. I hope to move to the Cavite area, because of the golf courses there, in the next 6 months once my divorce is final.. I currently bank with Regions. in Atlanta. I was thinking opening a Schwab checking account and moving money from Regions to Schwab as needed. I will have a debit card with each account. If I only move say $1,000.00 to pay for the major bills each month, and I lost the Schwab debit card, I wouldn't be out a lot of money. And I would still have access to money through Regions. Also my daughter is on my Regions account. If I needed money quickly, she could send some through Western Union. If you see a hole in this plan please point it out. It doesn't do any good to talk to people here because they have not gone through what you and other expats have. Your opinion would be appreciated.
Sofi Money refunds all fees.
How can you transfer large amount of money. My wife and I am retiring in the Philippines and when we see our house want to use it to build a house in the Philippines. And I want to buy new vehicle cash so that will be additional. You can only bring $10000 cash when you arrive.
THE PHILIPPINE CONNECTION If you're retiring here you should have no problem opening a local bank account. Then, just wire transfer the money there. Many banks also offer USD accounts which might be interesting if you don't want to exchange everything into Pesos right away. Look into transferwise as well, as with a large sum, the difference in exchange rates may be relevant. You could then do US bank -> Transferwise -> Philippine bank with the conversion to peso happening at Transferwise (where you will get a better rate than most banks offer). Try it out with a small sum first and be prepared that they will ask some questions when transferring very large amounts (i.e., where is the money from and what's it for).
After posting this video almost a year ago , are you still happy with Fidelity and or Charles Schwab and with Transferwise . The reason I`m asking because I`m starting to set things up , but I will not be moving for two years . Good video by the way !
still very, very happy with this arrangement. makes things so much easier. i even pay my rent to the landlord's bank directly with transferwise.
Most of my money is at Etrade. I will open a Schwab account but I'm having a hard time understanding why I would need Transferwise. I would just go to Etrade and do the transfer from the Etrade site to Schwab. No fees. The exchange rate would be calculated by Schwab once I make a withdrawal in Asia. What is the necessity for Transferwise, or how would it be more efficacious than doing the transfer through Etrade?
some banks have a charge for wiring money, but tranferwise isn't a necessity unless that's the case. but having a transferwise account does serve the purpose of being a main-card carried and used daily since it's only attached to a portion of your money, not your main account.
this way, if the card is stolen, you have your main cards as a backup and any losses are limited to what's in the transferwise account.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Understood, and thank you for the response. In my case Schwab wouldn't be my main account so I guess it would be my de facto Transferwise. Also, as I've said, there are no fees to transfer money among my accounts. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt just to have a Tranferwise account active in the background just as a back up. Thanks again.
Reekay, are travelers checks accepted in Phil?
don't even bother with traveler's checks in the PH. banks will take forever and good luck getting any local merchant to even know what they are, let alone take them as cash.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Ok thanks. I like the idea of using the atm card with CS
I don't see why you need to use Transferwise to send money from your main bank account to a Schwab or Fidelity account. You will incur a fee. Fidelity and Schwab both have ways to link your accounts to fund the accounts without fees. Once you have the Schwab account, you will be all set. You would only use transferwise when sending money internationally. Like from your American account to a Vietnam account.
when i last wanted to move money from WF to Fidelity there was a fee. if that's changed then that's good news.
an added benefit of using the Transferwise debit card is that you can safely put away your other (main home bank) cards, rather than carry them around to chance them getting lost or stolen. those would serve as a backup and are a link to your main funds.. meanwhile the Transferwise card only access a portion of your funds.
this makes not only for a backup, but cuts your losses should your card get stolen.
@@Lifebeyondthesea There is definitely no fee to transfer money from your US checking account to your US Schwab account. Idk about fidelity. I have Schwab not Fidelity.
I was in the process of setting up the scenario you describe for Transferwise converting and transferring PHP to my Charles Schwab bank account. Trouble is, the TW support agent said that it does not appear that Charles Schwab will take the funds as PHP. When I pull the funds out of an ATM as Pesos, at that point the ATM bank will hit me with fees for conversion. Are you trying to say that Charles Schwab will refund ALL fees incurred at the ATM--including the conversion fees?
yes. fidelity does the same. i've had them refund over $170 in a month back to me for atm-fees, which are $5 per transaction in the PH.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Can you tell me if I pull money out from a Philippine ATM using the Wise debit card, will it pull pesos from the peso balance on the card? (your Wise account keeps different currencies)
@@sunnybeaches5622 in Wise, you'll have one account that is your primary account. what i've found is that they will use the currency for that as the default. so, when you buy in PH pesos with your Wise card, the default is USD unless... the cashier asks you whether you prefer to pay in pesos or dollars.
@@Lifebeyondthesea Great to know tell them you want to pay in pisos at the register and hope you can get the message across. Thank you Henry!