Alert - Great USD Money Transfer Deal!

[OnMyWay]

57 minutes ago, intrepid said:

We usually do also.  But here they lines at Palawan are hours long and it just is not worth standing that long.  Also sometimes in the past if we did not have enough pesos on hand it would require a trip to the bank,(lines) and then Palawan, which even in the best of times plan 15-30 minutes.But then again, like everything in life it boils down to timing.

Right.  I forgot about that.  In fact, I mentioned to my wife about sending some money to her two brothers who are doing poorly, and at the time I was thinking about sending  from my U.S. bank via one of the services.  Maybe I will do a comparison of bank to cash pickup.

[PPGfreak]

Thanks for the post. Just used this and went very smooth. 

[OnMyWay]

Update:

For the last few months, I have been touting Moneygram as a great deal because of their very high exchange rate and no fees on bank to bank transfers.

So I finally decided to try it.  It seems that their exchange rate has gone down to a more realistic level.  Before, they were giving more than the XE mid-market rate.  Now, they are giving around 20 centavos less than XE.  Still a good deal but not the super deal anymore.

XE is 49.47 right now.  For bank to bank:

Moneygram $1000 USD nets 49210.70  Net X-rate 49.22

Transferwise $1000 USD nets 48947.10 Net X-rate 48.95

In theory, check writing is slightly more than than Moneygram.  If I were to write a check to BPI, my cost is $1000 + $5 check deposit fee.  Right now, their online rate is 49.19, so my net for $1000 is 49,190.  If I were to "spend" that same $1000+$5 on Moneygram, my net will be 49457, 267 pesos more than the check got me.

Of course, I have to also wait ~25 days for the check to clear, and rates might be higher or lower.  I just thought that was the easiest way to compare.

I will let you know how it goes.  I'm trying to upload my passport picture and I need to get a better picture of it.

Edited July 15, 2020 by OnMyWay
typos

[Old55]

Today, 49.30 PNB via Atlas remittance here.

[OnMyWay]

14 minutes ago, Old55 said:

Today, 49.30 PNB via Atlas remittance here.

Net or with some fees?  How/where does one exchange with them?

Yesterday, the rate at our local changer was only 49.24.  Today, they are 49.38.  I hope this downtrend reverses soon!

Edited July 15, 2020 by OnMyWay

[OnMyWay]

Well now, Moneygram has me confused.

Previously, their bank to bank was the very high rate and as reported above yesterday, it was no longer great but still good.

Now, when I check bank to bank, it is a terrible rate, 48.48.  XE is 49.56 right now and my local changer is 49.45

Then, if I change it to Debit card, the rate is very good, 49.52, with a 2.99 service charge.  With the 2.99 charge, the net rate ends up at 49.37.  Still a good rate and available in minutes.  However, I'm not sure if I have a non-expired debit card for my U.S. accounts!

 

[intrepid]

23 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Well now, Moneygram has me confused.

Previously, their bank to bank was the very high rate and as reported above yesterday, it was no longer great but still good.

Now, when I check bank to bank, it is a terrible rate, 48.48.  XE is 49.56 right now and my local changer is 49.45

Then, if I change it to Debit card, the rate is very good, 49.52, with a 2.99 service charge.  With the 2.99 charge, the net rate ends up at 49.37.  Still a good rate and available in minutes.  However, I'm not sure if I have a non-expired debit card for my U.S. accounts!

 

I noticed that before at times.  Seems you have to go completely back for it to reset and then it usually shows the better rate?

I just tried it myself and got the 48.48 you did Don.  So what is up?  Have they lowered their rates?  I was really liking MG.  Very easy once I got things set up and no longer going to a money changer.  Just the bank one time to withdrawal.

Edited July 16, 2020 by intrepid

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, intrepid said:

I noticed that before at times.  Seems you have to go completely back for it to reset and then it usually shows the better rate?

I just tried it myself and got the 48.48 you did Don.  So what is up?  Have they lowered their rates?  I was really liking MG.  Very easy once I got things set up and no longer going to a money changer.  Just the bank one time to withdrawal.

Well, here I was touting Moneygram, and now I will give them a big thumbs down! 

Actually, I now remember I had a similar problem when I tried to use them years ago, but that memory went into offsite storage.

When signing up, you are required to upload an ID.  I only have a passport.  Yesterday, I tried twice.  They said the first one didn't have enough border.  The second had glare.  So today I took some more pictures and got a good one that seemed to meet their criteria.  I upload it, and get a message "It will take some time to process your profile" or something like that.  30 minutes later, I get this e-mail:

The hell with them.

[intrepid]

20 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Well, here I was touting Moneygram, and now I will give them a big thumbs down! 

Actually, I now remember I had a similar problem when I tried to use them years ago, but that memory went into offsite storage.

When signing up, you are required to upload an ID.  I only have a passport.  Yesterday, I tried twice.  They said the first one didn't have enough border.  The second had glare.  So today I took some more pictures and got a good one that seemed to meet their criteria.  I upload it, and get a message "It will take some time to process your profile" or something like that.  30 minutes later, I get this e-mail:

The hell with them.

That was the same experience and thoughts I had a few years back with Western Union and have not been back.  Seems they all have their games at times.

[intrepid]

Yes the exchange has been down this month and have been waiting for it to go a bit higher.  Tired of waiting so I checked MG and Xoom.  Even with the lower exchange MG is now offering it is still a better deal for me than Xoom.  So I'll stick with MG a bit longer and keep watching.