bank accounts
How difficult/safe is it to open a bank account in the Philippines...could an American open one by writing a check from the US?1
You are supposed to have an ACR-I card to open a bank account. Which you won't have unless you are a permanent resident or until you extend your stay as a tourist from 59 days to 4 months.If you deposit a cheque from the USA to your new account, don't expect to have access to your money for up to 6 weeks.
4
The best bank to open with and the one with the most Atms all over the Philippines and most Overseas offices is PNB/ALLIED Bank.some times the only bank in small towns and islands.
to open a account all you need is a I-CARD which you get if you stay more than 59 days.
the ABC cash card account is free to open if you put in the account php500 to start.
then all the PNB/ALLIED banks Atms all over the philippines thats over 1000+ are free to use with out any fees.
if you pay money in to the account out side of the town/city where you opened the account you pay php100.
and if you pay money in to the account from any PNB overseas the fee is 8 us dollars.
all you need is to stay over 59 days in the philippines and your have a I-card.
6
Actually BPI does not charge any atm fees if you use their own atms. If you use outside of their network , they charge you 20p which is roughly US 50$. They also have online banking and you can transfer funds easliy even via sms. They have a savings acct. that currently is giving 2.7 % interest. they're saying the likely trend is peso appreciating so it's wise to have some pesos stashed in a bank if you're planning on staying for a while.
