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I use BDO. No fees and interest payable. Also use Xoom for money transfers from my UK band to our joint account at BDO. For a £2 fee transfer anything up to about 60,000 pesos and after that appears to be free. Obviously there is a fee in the exchange rate.

Hope this helpful.

@tphgawn thanks so much for the info!

@tphgawn thanks so much for the info!

We have had experience with both BDO and Metrobank; the two largest banks in Philippines.

BDO is better in meeting our online banking needs. We bank mostly online now.

BDO can accomodate joint account for spouse easily.

BDO Online App is more responsive.  One Time PIN (OTP) comes faster via sms. Metrobank OTP sms often take too long or do not arrive at all. Especially when my cellphone is roam on holidays outside the Philippines. This is problematic since we have to remember to repeat online logging and waste time. Unlike Metrobank Online, BDO can accept registration for a non-Philippine cell number to use. This is helpful if you ended up staying in other countries and still need to manage the accounts in the Philippines.

Another good thing with BDO is we can exchange our USD to PHP online. Metrobank Online cannot do this online.

One additional advice on handling USD accounts inside the Philippines. Within the Philippines you can have USD accounts in banks such as BDO, Metrobank, BPI, Unionbank.  However, moving USD between these banks is inconvenient and expensive. Online USD transfers conversion from USD to PH and back to USD in the recipient bank. Many expat friends have to resort to drawing USD cash from one bank and deposit in another. Because of this we advise to your source USD in an international bank outside the Philippines (HSBC, Citibank, CIMB) and transfer needed USD when needed to the different banks/accounts inside the Philippines.

BDO Online does impose fees. (i) $8 fee to receive a USD transfer from overseas, (ii) $1 fee to exchange USD to PHP.  So minimize the frequency of transactions.  Another downside for BDO online transfer is it not obvious how one can send PHP to a local business or charity.  You need to request a guide to do this. 

@yiqipo

I've been in the Philippines since 2013. I've been frustrated with banks here. I'm afraid you'll have to slog into each of them and try to get info from the bank reps. Who will probably not have answers to your questions. But my frustration has rarely been with the ground troops in the branches - they are usually gracious but only functionaries to absorb but not deal with our concerns. - but with management. There is no pressure on them to provide or take responsibility and as such they operate imperiously. Here's where you shouldn't go: avoid like the plague PNB - I'm there and they are loathsome. Don't waste your time with them. I'd try Union, Maybe East West. RSBC - maybe Citibank, or HSBC as they are international. But I think you'll find that where ever you go, you will find the banking just plain clunky, and way behind the times.

To the OP.

Why not simply both use the same log in details, works for us but if you need a one time password sent to your phone then won't work as only one will receive.

We are with BDO and no fees but I had to have a good talk to the manager "no fees any more or we will move banks" no charges now in 4 years.

Good luck.

Cheers, Steve.

    @yiqipo
I've been in the Philippines since 2013. I've been frustrated with banks here. I'm afraid you'll have to slog into each of them and try to get info from the bank reps. Who will probably not have answers to your questions. But my frustration has rarely been with the ground troops in the branches - they are usually gracious but only functionaries to absorb but not deal with our concerns. - but with management. There is no pressure on them to provide or take responsibility and as such they operate imperiously. Here's where you shouldn't go: avoid like the plague PNB - I'm there and they are loathsome. Don't waste your time with them. I'd try Union, Maybe East West. RSBC - maybe Citibank, or HSBC as they are international. But I think you'll find that where ever you go, you will find the banking just plain clunky, and way behind the times.

My wife (Filipina) and I got married in the US in 1987.  After that we used to visit here often and it seemed to make sense opening dollar and peso accounts. Bottom line is we no longer see any reason to do that. We of course experienced the same frustrations as you but the final straw was losing 50% of our money in a dollar account for dormancy. Remember, we were living in America at the time so had not much occasion to access that account. By the time we realized they were stealing our balance, 50% was gone in service charges and we couldn't get it back so we just closed our accounts and do not use the backward banking system here.

.

Yes Dan they don't miss you and love their fees, we have a couple of accounts here with BDO that we don't use (Manila) and every 2 years receive an email stating that the accounts are dormant and about to be closed, Ben pops 10 pesos from our account here to there and nothing for another 2 years, they don't charge us for holding these accounts.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl intimated:

    Yes Dan they don't miss you and love their fees, we have a couple of accounts here with BDO that we don't use (Manila) and every 2 years receive an email stating that the accounts are dormant and about to be closed, Ben pops 10 pesos from our account here to there and nothing for another 2 years, they don't charge us for holding these accounts.
Cheers, Steve

Actually that does not sound too unreasonable as they, unusual as it seems, are a Philippine bank that has apparently discovered email and do give you a chance to make the accounts active. Of course, in my case we were overseas and could not deposit 10php into our passbook accounts (passbook like in the 1950's US lol}. For us, without warning they simply began applying service charges to the balance and would do so eventually until nothing was left.

LOL Dan and yes all our accounts have passbooks which you need if drawing cash out over the counter but can stick a debit card in the hole in the wall and get cash.

Yes always had internet banking and email notifications with BDO for 13 years, we were in/out of PH 2 to 3 times a year until we moved 5 years ago and easy to move 10 pesos from an active account to an inactive account online from Australia or when here.

The systems here seem antiquated but this is what we have and deal with it we do.

I understand that you got fleeced back in the 80's and 90's but thing are a lot easier now, hope you changed banks.

Funny the accounts we don't use never attract any fees possibly because we reactivate, thinking about it we should probably close the Manila accounts, less things to deal with.

Cheers, Steve.

Married to a Pinay   We have used PNB for years with no issues   I found it easy to get an account with them even before i got my 13 A   

BDO or Union Bank are going to be the best choices, if you're the type of person that likes going to the branch itself then BDO is for you, if you're the type of person who likes to do everything online then Union Bank is the better choice.

@yiqipo

I would recommend PNB.  my wife and i have been banking with them for 5 years with no issues   We transfer a 2k per month mortgage payment from our Charles Schwab checking account in the states to PNB and over the past five years have transferred more than $200,000 USD  for buying land and a house in the Philippines with never an issue. You will find that you will get very low interest rate on any money kept in your checking and or savings account in the Philippines so I suggest as an investment strategy, you only use checking and saving for your daily and/or emergency needs. All in all I have  had more issues with prior banks in the US than i have had with banks in the Philippines.  I do love my Charles Schwab account though. So It's not all doom and gloom  with PI  lending institutions. lol