Remittances - Sending Money to the Philippines
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Most overseas Filipinos, at one time or another, need to send money to
someone in the Philippines - either a relative, friend, associate or
ward as a Christmas, birthday or graduation gift or for tuition fees,
payment of a loan, seed money for a business or for any number of
other reasons.
Unfortunately, there are a number of horror stories resulting from
careless ways of sending money to the Philippines which include, among
others:
enclosing US$ notes (dollar bills) in envelopes or cards sent to the
Philippines through the mails. Many envelopes end up being pilfered
somewhere along the postal route from the US to the addressee's
mailbox.
sending money orders, cashier's checks or other negotiable instruments
through the mails. Many of these instruments end up not being received
by the intended payee in the Philippines but negotiated instead in a
bank normally in another ASEAN country.
"pakiusap" with individuals traveling back to the Philippines. At
times, the intended recipient receives the funds either delayed or
with some discrepancy in the amount and, in a few instances, not at
all.
sending money through non-banking channels. While there are a number
of legitimate remittance outfits, there are also many operations
representing themselves as legitimate remittance companies, yet these
operate without the proper licenses, nor do they follow the
regulations which are intended to protect the consumer. Without a
doubt, the safest way to send money to the Philippines is through a
bank.
compared with banks, non-bank remittance outfits almost always offer
lower exchange rates for your dollars (which translates into less
pesos for your recipient in the Philippines). Also, non-bank
remittance operations normally charge higher fees for remitting funds
to the Philippines than banks. If you are currently sending money to
the Philippines through a non-bank facility, you owe it to yourself to
call us so you can compare our fees and exchange rates with theirs.
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Why it makes sense to remit through the banking system
Safety and security.
You, as the remitter, and your payee in the Philippines, as the
beneficiary, are both protected from funds being either lost or paid
to the wrong beneficiary. Banks, such as PNB, undertake procedures to
secure the remittance transaction and authenticate all parties
involved in the remittance, especially, the payee or recipient of the
remittance in the Philippines. Many of these security procedures,
intended to protect you, your payee and your funds, are regularly
examined by regulatory authorities which, in the case of PNB New York,
include the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the State Banking
Department of New York and the Central Bank of the Philippines. This
ensures that regulations, intended to protect consumers such as
yourselves are followed and complied with by banks like PNB New York.
Non-bank remittance outfits are not subject to the same regulatory
requirements.
Best exchange rates.
Banks buy and sell very large amounts of currencies with many
individuals and institutions, both domestic and international. As
such, they can buy or sell the foreign exchange you pay for your
remittance at the best rates in the market.
Lowest fees.
Since banks process hundreds or thousands of funds transfers daily,
they are able to take advantages of economies of scale and offer the
service to you at the least possible cost. The fees that banks charge
for remittances are, with very little exceptions, substantially lower
than those charged by most money remittance/door-to-door outfits.
Fast and convenient.
When remittances to the Philippines are processed through
on-line/real-time facilities such as the Rapid Remit system operated
by PNB, the money is made available to the recipient in the
Philippines virtually instantaneously since the credit to his/her
deposit account is posted in real time. This means that your
beneficiary can withdraw from any PNB or MegaLink/Bancnet/Expressnet
ATM machine in the Philippines and withdraw the funds seconds after
the receipt is issued in New York, if need be. He/she can simply
withdraw from an ATM machine or write out a check against his current
account or proceed to the bank to claim the remittance and withdraw
the funds.
Banks build relationships.
When you remit through banks, you can build on this relationship so
that you are able to avail yourself of other banking services such as
deposits, loans and other financial services.
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Very briefly, the process of sending money to the Philippines involves
the following simple steps:
the remitter (sender) fills up a remittance application form,
pays for his remittance and obtains a receipt for his payment,
PNB New York issues an electronic payment instruction to a PNB Branch
in the Philippines where the beneficiary (payee or receiver of the
remittance) has a deposit account or where it is convenient for him to
claim the proceeds of the remittance, and finally,
the PNB Branch in the Philippines will either credit the beneficiary's
deposit account if he has one or, if he does not have an account, he
will be advised either through a phone call or by mail that he needs
to claim the proceeds of a remittance at that PNB Branch in which case
he is paid upon presentation of 2 valid picture IDs. Alternatively, if
the beneficiary expects to receive a remittance, he can simply inquire
or withdraw from any MegaLink/BancNet or Expressnet ATM which can be
found anywhere in the Philippines.
where door-to-door remittance (Cash 3D) services is offered, PNB Head
Office will send electronic payment instructions to its designated
courier which will process and deliver cash (peso notes) to the
beneficiary's address.
PNB New York Branch provides this service to thousands of Filipinos
all over the USA on a daily basis. Those who live within the New
York/New Jersey/Connecticut Tri-State area, especially those who work
in Manhattan, often drop by the New York Branch at 5th Avenue in
Manhattan or at the Queens Remittance office in Woodside, Queens and
personally transact their remittance business at these counters.
Others who are unable to go to the New York Branch mail-in their
remittances instead.
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A Reprint - How to Send Money to the Philippines
June 1, 1996
To - A Prospective Mail-In Remitter
Subject - SENDING MONEY TO THE PHILIPPINES VIA MAIL-IN TO PNB NEW YORK
The purpose of this note is to familiarize the first-time remitter
with the procedure of remitting funds to someone in the Philippines.
At this time, kindly verify that the accompanying form - "MAIL-IN
REMITTANCE APPLICATION FORM" is attached to this note. If not, please
call us and request for the form.
The remittance application form has two pages. The front page, when
properly accomplished, contains all the required information to effect
a remittance. The back page contains various disclosure statements
required by Federal and New York State banking regulations. You, as a
remitter, should read these disclosure statements carefully and
determine how you are affected by the Bank's procedures, terms and
conditions. In case you have any questions about the procedures, terms
and conditions, please contact our Compliance Officer at Tel (212) 790
9615.
The front page has a top and bottom portion. The top portion contains
answer boxes which are intended to contain the basic information which
we require to expeditiously process a remittance. The bottom portion,
marked "FOR BANK USE ONLY" is for our use. You need not concern
yourself with this section.
The following sections describe in detail the information we require:
PNB Branch: This is the PNB Branch in the Philippines where your
designated payee will claim the proceeds of your remittance or where
he keeps his deposit account. Example: PNB Buendia, PNB Davao, PNB
Ormoc, etc.
or Bank: Fill in this box only if payment of your remittance will be
made by a bank or branch other than PNB. Example: MetroBank Ayala, Far
East Bank Davao, PCIBank Cebu, etc.
(Optional) For deposit to: Fill-in this box only If your designated
payee has a deposit account and the proceeds of the remittance will be
credited to his/her account. Place either a check or X mark on the US$
box if the deposit account is a US$ account or on the Peso box if the
deposit account is a peso account. If you check the US$ box and your
payee in the Philippines has a peso account, the remittance will be
paid in pesos via a credit to his/her peso deposit account.
Account No: PNB deposit account numbers, with very few exceptions, are
comprised of 10 digits. The deposit account is a US$ account only if
the 4th digit of the account number is 7 or if the 4th and 5th digits
are 8 and 9, respectively. If the 4th digit of the account number is
not 7 or the 4th and 5th digits are not 8 and 9, respectively, the
deposit account is denominated in pesos.
Beneficiary's Name: The full and complete name of your designated
payee in the Philippines. Do not use nicknames (e.g. Jun or Baby or
Boy or some similar pet name). The name you furnish us (and that which
will be contained in our payment instruction) should correspond to
that contained in a valid Identification Card which your designated
payee in the Philippines will be asked to present at the paying branch
in order to authenticate his/her identity. Valid IDs include
Philippine Passport, Voter's ID, Driver's License and other similar
official picture IDs. If the proceeds of a remittance is for credit to
a deposit account, the payee is not required to claim the funds in
person and an ID is therefore not required.
Beneficiary's Address & Tel No: Provide the full address of the
beneficiary where he/she reliably receives mail (either residential or
office). Provide both residential and office telephone numbers
whenever possible.
Remitter's Name: Your full name
Address: Your full address
City: State: Zip: Your city, state and zip code
Day Tel No: Tel No where you can be reached during regular office
hours, 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Remittance Fees:
Remittances payable in US$ (Credits to US$ Deposit Accounts - Acct
No's 4th digit must be "7")
Important: Please be advised that effective the 15th of August 2002,
the fee schedule for remittances payable in US$ will be as follows:
Up to US$2,000.00 - $20.00
$2,000.01 - $3,000.00 - $25.00
$3,000.01 - $5,000.00 - $30.00
$5,000.01 - $10,000.00 - $35.00
$10,000.01 - $15,000.00 - $45.00
Above $15,000.00 - $50.00
Remittances payable in PHPesos (Credits to Peso Deposit Accounts)
Any amount - $8.00
Amount Enclosed: Total Amount of remittance plus the applicable
remittance fee. PNB New York accepts various modes of payment for
remittances. We normally recommend that remittances be paid via Money
Order because it is convenient (you can buy these at your local post
office), it is usually cheaper (a postal money order for a few hundred
dollars costs less than a dollar) and it is also quicker (we process
the remittance on the same day we receive it in the mails). However,
PNB New York also accepts Cashier's checks, Manager's checks,
certified checks and other similar instruments as payment for
remittances. At PNB New York, we normally issue the payment
instruction or effect remittance on the same day we receive the money
order or cashier's check or certified check in the mails. Also, PNB
New York accepts personal checks but these are accepted subject to
clearing (meaning, the remittance will not be sent until the check
clears and PNB receives the corresponding credit). Do not send cash
through the mails. Also, please make sure that all checks and money
orders are "pay to the order of" Philippine National Bank. Still
another way to send a remittance through PNB New York is through your
own local bank. Tell your bank that you wish to do a FedWire transfer
to PNB New York. You will be asked to furnish the payment details of
the remittance which is comprised of the basic information in the
"Mail-In Remittance Application Form" and PNB New York's ABA Routing
Number which is 026003007. For further assistance on this latter
method, you may ask your bank's representative to get in touch with us
so that we can help arrange for the remittance in an expeditious
manner.
Other matters to keep in mind
Always sign and date the remittance application form. Be sure to
enclose the remittance payment with the fully accomplished remittance
application form. Remember that remittances for credit to deposit
accounts with PNB Branches that are on-line are the fastest way of
sending money to the Philippines. Since PNB New York is able to
execute real time credits to deposit accounts in the Philippines via
its Rapid Remit facility, the proceeds of your remittance is made
available for withdrawal virtually instantaneously. If you send money
to your designated payee in the Philippines on a fairly regular basis,
It is therefore worthwhile for your beneficiary to maintain an account
with an on-line PNB Branch conveniently accessible to him.
If you have any further questions, you can get in touch with us
through any of the following:
Postal System - 546 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036-5002
Voice - (212) 790 9600
FAX - (212) 382 2238
Telex - 62703 FILBANK
Internet E-Mail - pnbnyc@ix.netcom.com
Internet WWW URL - http://pw1.netcom.com/~pnbnyc/pnbnyc.html
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This page accessed times since the 15th of January 1997.
Page created by: pereyes@pnbnewyork.com
Changes last made on: Wednesday July 10 15:09:25 1996
Background music is copyright © 1996 by Michael D. Walthius, all
rights reserved, used by permission. |
