Any Us Banks Here In Philippines

[TexasRangersFan]

If this question has been asked before I do apologize for not locating it and asking this question again.

I am trying to find a US bank that I can deposit money into and use an ATM card here in the Philippines to withdraw money from the same bank here. To avoid paying the ATM charges as well as having to travel back to America to renew the ATM card when it expires. Does anyone know of such a bank?

There used to be a Bank of America here. However I have found that bank to be closed now. At least the one in Davao has been.

I was wondering about Citibank. Does anyone know if the Citibank here in Cebu is affiliated with the Citibanks in the US?

Thanks.

[cebu rocks]

HSBC is considered a local bank anywhere in the world no extra fee for withdrawal . In fact you can use just about any ATM with no fee

[Americano]

When I moved to the Philippines in November 2009 from the USA I had a Citibank account. I found out that Citibank in the Philippines is a completely different bank. I guess all they share is their name. I used my Citibank debit card a few times in the Philippines but the fees were too high so I closed the account. At present I transfer funds from my bank in the US to my Philippines bank account but I plan to open a Dollar Account in the Philippines so I can write checks to transfer money at no charge.

cebu rocks is correct about HSBC so I would check on opening an account there.

[luke]

HSBC and Citibank are the only foreign banks entertaining consumer accounts. All other foreign bank are investment bank. However every bank here has to follow the PH banking laws whether local or foreign meaning they are separate banking entities and not automatically an extension/branch from the western head-office. Transaction between PH-branch and US-branch is similar as transacting between 2 different banks, only the conditions and fees maybe more favorable.

I opened a PH Citibank account late 90's and a European Citibank account somewhere in 2005, expecting to transfer funds between the EU and PH accounts but that was not immediately possible. The use of the EU-ATM-card was no problem and no fees are charged. The exchange rate however is not the best one (1.5 % charge). In the meantime transfer between the 2 accounts is possible from home-banking and executed immediately. There is no additional fee from EU side. The PH side charges some doc stamps. Still the exchange rate is not the best one.

The use of the ATM-cards (Maestro/Master Card connected) of both accounts can be used in other countries without much problems.

[Call me bubba]

HUMM trying to save those FEES?

USA banks? well they JUST NOT AVAILABLE .( as this is the PHILIPPINES)

well not exactly. if you work in the US embassy & A AMERICAN citizen(not a native employee)

their is a bank/credit union for YOU

your best bet is USAA , they rebate up to 15.00 in fees each month,

YOU need your ATM/CREDIT CARD SENT to you? then you have 4 choices

1. have it sent to a US address then have it forwarded( that would take about 25 days,give or take)

2. Have it sent here VIA postal mail(take your risk)

3. have it sent VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS or other service(pay $$ 30-50)

OR

4. have 2 cards with different expiry dates(then follow # 1 , # 2 or #3)

OR 5. open up a US $$$$$$ account with a LOCAL BANK,write your check. wait for it to clear(up to 30days)

then get your $$ ,convert it to PHP

late edit. HSBC & CITIBANK at this time

DOES NOT CHARGE a ATM FEE

the other BANKS here

charge from 150-200php

Edited August 21, 2012 by Call me Bubba

[i am bob]

HSBC had stated sometime around the start of the year that they are going to be closing out their banks in the Philippines. I believe I put a link to the news item at that time. I will see if I can find it later today - busy day planned - though I will try and keep up on all the good info here through my phone!

:attention:

[scott h]

Feed back on our plan please. We have a CitiBank US account. We will open a CitiBank PI account. Use the PI debit card while in the Phil. I have been told that money transfers between are relativily cheap, but we plan on just depositing a US check in the PI account monthly (and wait the 30 days or so) to replentish our operating budget. We will use the wire transfer for large ammounts naturally if we need to.

[wolf larsen]

Bubba is right about USAA. They will refund ATM fees and also mail new cards to you free. You need a military connection to open an account. A relative who was in the military will do.

Another option is to get a Capital One credit card and use that whenever you can. They are one of the few credit cards that don't charge currency exchange fees. You then simply pay it off with your US bank account. Of course, some businesses in PI will try to charge you more when you use a credit card but you can earn at least 1% cashback in reward points.

If you need cash, the best way is to do it through a third party like Oanda.com or Xe.com. You open an account and transfer from your US bank to your PI bank via your Oanda/XE account. They will give you a far better rate than any bank out there.

[luke]

Feed back on our plan please. We have a CitiBank US account. We will open a CitiBank PI account. Use the PI debit card while in the Phil. I have been told that money transfers between are relativily cheap, but we plan on just depositing a US check in the PI account monthly (and wait the 30 days or so) to replentish our operating budget. We will use the wire transfer for large ammounts naturally if we need to.

Citibank online banking allows you to transfer between CitiBank international accounts easily. With a USD account in PH, transfers can be in USD. Unfortunately the PH Citibank charges 10 USD fee (it may be different for US citizens). Exchange rate is not the best, but you can take out USD and go to the best money changer.

[TheMason]

Bubba is right about USAA. They will refund ATM fees and also mail new cards to you free. You need a military connection to open an account. A relative who was in the military will do.

You don't need a military connection to open a USAA checking account. They are available to the general public. While they do refund ATM fees up to $15 per month, they also levy a 1% service charge for foreign transactions.

IMO, the best banking solution is to deposit a check to a dollar account at a local bank and wait for it to clear.