Banking Privacy In The Philippines

[kaku]

A concern I have about maintaining a substantial bank balance in the Philippines relates to privacy.  Clearly if the wrong people discover you have a large bank balance (by their standards) you could be a target for criminal activity.  Since the average bank teller/employee isn't very highly paid, there is a real possibility they might be tempted to share information about their clients to the wrong parties.  This is why I have decided to keep most of my funds in the U.S. and write a USD check to my dollar account for monthly expenses.  This strategy avoids fees while still providing a degree of privacy.  I plan to withdraw dollars and exchange them with a money changer for pesos.  I have my ATM card as a backup should I require emergency access to funds.

 

Do you have any concerns about lax banking privacy in the Philippines?

[Mike S]

There is no privacy at all anywhere here in the Phils in banking or anything ..... we had a post awhile back were someone complained that the teller hollered back to someone behind her some very personal  info pertaining to his account ..... everyone in the lobby could hear what was said ..... I think it all stems from the fact that Filipinos live so close together that there are no secrets OR privacy ..... I mean how much privacy can you have in a 1-2 room house with 5-8 people all living in there ....

 

Also the most important reason to not keep large sums of money in the bank is because you are only insured up to p500,000 ..... which ain't a heck of a lot of money compared to western standards .... which would be $12,345 ..... now you know why rich people have so many accounts under so many different names .... if you have a wife you could have 3 accounts ..... yours ... hers and together in the same bank .... after that I believe you need to go to a different bank  ..... :cheersty:

[Bruce]

There are stories of the bank manager stealing funds and police and bank refuse to do anything as long as she pays you back. Also phantom ATM cards made and used against your funds.

 

The actual issue is that even if you discover the theft and report it and the bank sees it.... the bank management, depending on the family connections of the person stealing, may choose to ignore you and simply tell you the matter is under investigation....... for years... I met a man who had $2,000 stolen from a wire transfer. His bank proved they sent it and the middle bank proved they received and forwarded it to the Philippine bank. Philippine bank say they have no record of it. End of story.... No recourse without hiring an attorney to file a case against the bank....

 

I would go with the biggest bank around and it must have internet access so you can check your balances daily. As for privacy, you are applying 1st world thinking to a 3rd world country.

[Bingbangbin]

Adding on a question under this topic, Will I be able to open a savings account with only my passport

and  tourist (visa on arrival) visa? 

 

What about safety deposit boxes, are they usually available at the larger banks? (or are they sold out with a waiting list?)

 

I have a short trip to Cebu in July, ( moving there in October) and would like to do both the above if possible.

 

 

Thanks in advance for input from anyone with this experience.

[earthdome]

Adding on a question under this topic, Will I be able to open a savings account with only my passport and  tourist (visa on arrival) visa? 

 

I don't recall hearing anyone say they were able to open a bank account with just their passport on the initial 21 day tourist visa.

 

Policies for opening a bank account can be different between banks and between branches within a bank.

 

I was able to open both peso and USD accounts with BPI by showing them the paperwork from my first 38 day visa extension. Others have reported the bank required they have the ACR-I ID card immigration issues after your second visa extension.

[Mike S]

What about safety deposit boxes, are they usually available at the larger banks? (or are they sold out with a waiting list?)

 

I had one in Cebu but had to wait about 5-6 months .... the bigger banks like BDO asked me to deposit p500,000 (yea you heard it right no typo) to get a safety deposit box in their branch on the circle .... didn't ask elsewhere as I was afraid to ..... here in Bacolod we used the same bank we had in Cebu ... Bank of Commerce ... owned by San Miguel Holding Co. so they had a few open here and we got one right away .... kinda a crappy location right on the very bottom but then we don't go in it except maybe once every 6 months .... :mocking:  :mocking: ...... I think you will find it will vary from branch to branch with no rhyme nor reason ....  again same on the opening of accounts .... some are requiring an ACR I card some don't .... Bank of Commerce opened mine with a passport and PLDT bill showing my address ..... I can give you one of the officers name if you send me a message .... she was a great help to us .... :cheersty:  

Edited April 6, 2013 by Mike S

[Tukaram (Tim)]

i had to have my ACR, p5000, and it had to be a joint account with my girlfriend. BDO.

But i wouldnt keep much money in the PIs. Monthly bill money only. The rest stays in the US. I trust Cypress banks more than PIs ha ha

[JJReyes]

Kaku, it's best to keep most of your money offshore and have only a limited amount in the Philippines. I would say six months for expenses would be the maximum. The banking laws are very strict on paper. The difficulty is enforcement since it is not considered a very serious crime.

[MikeB]

The banking laws are very strict on paper. The difficulty is enforcement since it is not considered a very serious crime.

Not so difficult for the IRS:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/irs-reporting-rules-foreign-bank-accounts-fbar.html

 

That would concern me a lot more then a big-mouth local bank employee.

[earthdome]

The banking laws are very strict on paper. The difficulty is enforcement since it is not considered a very serious crime.

Not so difficult for the IRS:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/irs-reporting-rules-foreign-bank-accounts-fbar.html

 

That would concern me a lot more then a big-mouth local bank employee.

Quick summary, you must file if you have assets of over $10,000 USD in an account at any time during the year. This could impact you if you transfer funds to buy a home or car. I will make sure that my philippines bank account always stays below $10,000 USD.