Depositing A Canadian Dollar Check In Cebu

[Dave Hounddriver]

Until now I have been content to have my funds sent from Canada by wire transfer every few months. I have had a couple of instances where this proved unreliable and it is always expensive, (this due to the high exchange rate charged by the Canadian bank where the dollars are converted to Pesos).I am able to write a check designated US funds and drawn on my Canadian dollar account. This check can be deposited into a US dollar account here in Cebu and I then have to wait a month for it to clear (the wait is not a problem).This scenario means I pay exchange twice. First when my bank converts my check from Canadian dollars to the US dollars I designated. Second when I convert US dollars to Pesos. Note that I could designate Pesos when I write the check and my Canadian bank would exchange that for me. I gain nothing as their rate to exchange to pesos is very poor.So what I want is a bank that will deposit a check written in Canadian dollars and pay the exchange rate prevalent in Cebu at that time. (I know it is possible to open a Canadian dollar account in the Philippines but the minimum balance required was 7,000 CDN dollars last time I checked and that is a little bit too much for my liking.)I asked my bank manager, in Cebu, but her advice was to go with option 1 . . Cdn to US to Pesos. There has to be a better way.

[Mr Lee]

Until now I have been content to have my funds sent from Canada by wire transfer every few months. I have had a couple of instances where this proved unreliable and it is always expensive, (this due to the high exchange rate charged by the Canadian bank where the dollars are converted to Pesos).I am able to write a check designated US funds and drawn on my Canadian dollar account. This check can be deposited into a US dollar account here in Cebu and I then have to wait a month for it to clear (the wait is not a problem).This scenario means I pay exchange twice. First when my bank converts my check from Canadian dollars to the US dollars I designated. Second when I convert US dollars to Pesos. Note that I could designate Pesos when I write the check and my Canadian bank would exchange that for me. I gain nothing as their rate to exchange to pesos is very poor.So what I want is a bank that will deposit a check written in Canadian dollars and pay the exchange rate prevalent in Cebu at that time. (I know it is possible to open a Canadian dollar account in the Philippines but the minimum balance required was 7,000 CDN dollars last time I checked and that is a little bit too much for my liking.)I asked my bank manager, in Cebu, but her advice was to go with option 1 . . Cdn to US to Pesos. There has to be a better way.

Hi Dave, I bank with BPI and they have Canadian accounts that only require CAD 650, so you might wish to check with them. I know that you usually have to start an account with currency and not a check, so you will have to find a way to get some of the greenbacks to open the account, maybe by helping a Canadian exchange some money, and then from there you could deposit checks into the account and I believe it is 21 days for the check to clear with them, at least that is what it takes for US dollar checks to clear, so it should be the same. BPI BankCAD -Canadian Dollars Passbook Savings CAD 650 .25%

[Art2ro]

I also have a BPI account! If one is to withdraw cash in any other currency other than pesos, it is best that you call your bank in advance to let them know you want to withdraw cash in person, because they need time to inventory what foreign currency is available in their vault and record all the serial numbers, also they may not have your particular currency readily available and have to make other arrangements, but as a last resort, they are quick to convert your currency without the currency in your hands into pesos right then and there at their rate which may be .30 to .50 centavos less then the street market rate!

[Mr Lee]

I also have a BPI account! If one is to withdraw cash in any other currency other than pesos, it is best that you call your bank in advance to let them know you want to withdraw cash in person, because they need time to inventory what foreign currency is available in their vault and record all the serial numbers, also they may not have your particular currency readily available and have to make other arrangements, but as a last resort, they are quick to convert your currency without the currency in your hands into pesos right then and there at their rate which may be .30 to .50 centavos less then the street market rate!

I prearrange the cash to be there and have the money changer meet us at the bank and exchange it on the spot. Sometimes the bank has a black market money changer who will have the same rates, so I will use theirs, and other times ours is significantly higher, so we use ours and the bank does not mind because we always deposit the pesos right back into our peso account, so we do not walk out of the bank with hardly any money on us and everyone there knows it. BPI also has online exchange but as Art said, I have found that the rate is not as good as the money changer, so if a person is to do a large enough exchange, then they might wish to try to maximize their return on the exchange rate IMO, that is why we do what we do.

[No name]

Why not use Xoom? Is that not an option for Canadians?Eight dollars, takes about four hours when I deposit to a bank account here.About 30 minutes if I send cash to pawn shop but only if I use a US IP.The first transaction was slower.8 bucks to send $3000.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Xoom used to be very good. I used them for years until they decided to only accept funds from US banks or credit cards and then . . . "After careful review, the Xoom Customer Verification Team has canceled your recent Xoom money transfer ". . . . .Now there is a competing firm opening in Canada called Zoompass which works in conjunction with Western Union and is showing a lot of promise. Unfortunately, that kind of money transfer will always be more expensive than just writing a good old fashioned check and paying a buck and a half service charge.

Why not use Xoom? Is that not an option for Canadians?Eight dollars, takes about four hours when I deposit to a bank account here.About 30 minutes if I send cash to pawn shop but only if I use a US IP.The first transaction was slower.8 bucks to send $3000.

[Art2ro]

As for my experience with zoom.com, here's my take on people already residing in the Philippines permanently! It isn't that simple to register with zoom.com, because they require that one has a physical U.S. address and require proof of residence by way of utility billing statements in one's name, which most of us residing in the Philippines have no second home in the U.S. so therefore no utility billing statements! No problems for those who have two households! And with zoom.com, it is not allowed to send money to yourself from the U.S. to an overseas account due to the "Anti Money Laundering Act", it has to be in some one else's name as a bonafide recipient/beneficiary other than the sender's name! And if you have a spouse or girlfriend you have a joint account with, you can not send them money to that account via zoom.com if your name is on the account too!

Edited January 19, 2011 by Fil/AmArt

[Dave Hounddriver]

Thanks for this info guys. Here is a follow up on my experiences since this post. I found a couple of banks in Cebu that will allow me to open a Canadian dollar account. Their requirements and conditions vary but they are quite strict. The BPI manager that I spoke with explained the biggest problem is not having Canadian cash on hand. Sure I can deposit a Canadian check or wire transfer. Sure I can withdraw Canadian cash, subject to availability. The problem is they never have availability. They will ONLY give me Canadian cash if someone has brought that cash into that branch on that day. They will NOT bring in Canadian cash to give to me. Chances of them having Canadian cash on hand to give me is slim because most customers deposit via wire transfer and that is not cash.I can withdraw the funds in Pesos at any time. The BPI exchange rate is the same as the rate my Canadian bank gives me, that being 5% less than I can get at the money changer in Fooda. My net gain for doing this is absolutely zero.I am mildly jealous of my American counterparts because your US dollar is readily transacted in so many places that you do not seem to get gouged on the exchange rate. Anyone else have suggestions on how to get Canadian 100 dollar bills in Cebu so I can exchange them at the money change booths and save that 5%?

I also have a BPI account! If one is to withdraw cash in any other currency other than pesos, it is best that you call your bank in advance to let them know you want to withdraw cash in person, because they need time to inventory what foreign currency is available in their vault and record all the serial numbers, also they may not have your particular currency readily available and have to make other arrangements, but as a last resort, they are quick to convert your currency without the currency in your hands into pesos right then and there at their rate which may be .30 to .50 centavos less then the street market rate!

Hi Dave, I bank with BPI and they have Canadian accounts that only require CAD 650, so you might wish to check with them. I know that you usually have to start an account with currency and not a check, so you will have to find a way to get some of the greenbacks to open the account, maybe by helping a Canadian exchange some money, and then from there you could deposit checks into the account and I believe it is 21 days for the check to clear