David Mashael

I must be missing something in this thread. I don't see what is the advantage in having a BPI account in London, and making 2 transfers to get your money to Philippines, one from your UK bank to BPI London and a second from BPI London to your account in Philippines. Why not just transfer directly from your UK account to any account you have in Philippines. That way you're not limited to banking with BPI and only one transfer involved.

mikemike

If i had my time again I would have retained my UK account but still had my income directed into the BOI account as it is cheap to transfer, no ATM fees at this end etc, and great exchange rate. 5£ for upto £1000 transfer and increase at 1£ per thousand £ for fees so that £5000 transfer is 9£ etc. Over £10,000 transfer needs to be booked and you will get a better rate

Bealinehx

I have UK and Phils bank accounts. I choose to use a third party to transfer monthly funds. Total cost per transaction 200PHP. Exchange rate 1% below published rates as shown in the financial pages.

Philosophical 11

David Mashael,

You ask why people make two transfers i.e. one from UK Bank Acct to BPI (Europe) and then to BPI here. Prior to moving here, I wanted to use my UK bank (Lloyds) to do exactly that. For a long convoluted reason for which I can no longer remember, it was too difficult for them to arrange.

Regards

Stokkevn

Especially in the days today when savings accounts get between nicks & nothing in interest. I stick a few months worth of money in BPI Europe and follow the exchange rate and transfer on a good day. The last couple of times I have transferred from BPI Europe to BPI here I have got a higher exchange rate than the Forex mid rate, which was considerably higher than any others I have used.

stacy123

So your saying it's all a pain in the ass to do? That doesn't surprise me! Why is everything such a ballache in the Philippines! That's one of the main reasons I decided to give living there a miss

mikemike

Opening accounts is not a problem for residents. Try opening accounts in the UK when you are not a resident, just a tourist!!

Mine was easy to do as I am a resident as was opening the account in the UK. My biggest mistake was to close down my UK big four accounts as I never believed i would need them again. I did not want to pay bank charges on Uk accounts and credit cards so thought it was a smart move, oh well!!

quiltman

I kept my UK account as I need to make payments from and to it now and then. It's no problem to transfer to BPI Europe online. Takes a couple of minutes and shows in BPI Europe within a few hours - unless its weekend or Bank Holiday. Can then transfer to my BPI account here when it suits, depending on exchange rate and takes seconds to show here.

Bealinehx

Stacy 123 it's only a ball ache if you let it be. Understand the rules and all is Hunky Dory

Chris in Makati

I live in Manila and I have local BPI accounts here. I also opened an account with BPI Europe in London and use that to transfer money from the UK.

The process is:

- Transfer money from my UK Halifax account account to my BPI Europe account. This is easily done with Halifax Online Banking using a Faster Payments transfer.

- Log on to BPI Express Online.

- Go to the menu section "Foreign Transfer & Exchange" and choose "From BPI Europe".

- Choose the amount to be transferred and the account to which it should go to.

- The exchange rate is confirmed and the transfer is completed immediately.

BPI charge £5 for up to £1,000. Each additional £1,000 costs £1 more. The exchange rate is excellent. Better than any money changer or remittance service I've found, and almost the same as the wholesale interbank rate.

David Mashael

No I'm not saying that at all. I have not tried transferring funds from UK so have no direct experience. My comment was merely asking why some people bothered using the BPI Europe account.
Sorry that you feel Philippines is a balls ache. Personally I love living here. Never met more friendly, helpful people. It's always amazed me, how it is usually the people that have the least that are often the most generous.

Bealinehx

Agreed with the people with the least are the most generous. I've experienced in Phils, W Africa, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. Sadly not Qatar, I wonder why?

Philosophical 11

Greetings!

Like most Brits, I transfer my money from my UK Bank to BPI (Europe) and thence to a BPI branch here in Phils. Once set up, it is quick, easy and inexpensive.

However, it appears that BPI (Europe) are going to double the minimum transfer charge from £5 to £10 commencing 1 Sep. Does anyone have an alternative method of transferring funds from the UK?

Regards

Stokkevn

£5 per transfer was cheap. Before I moved to the Philippines I used PhilRem, normally for door to door payments, never had any problems with them, ( https://www.exchangerates.org.uk/Pou...sion-page.html ). LBC also transfer money as well but have never used them for that.

mikemike

https://www.globalwebpay.com/send-money-to-Philippines.aspx

https://transferwise.com/gb/send-money/send-money-to-philippines

What you save on transaction costs, you may lose on nasty exchange rates

As for BPI costs
Send Bi monthly as it still costs 10£ instead of 2 x 5£ for monthly if under £ per month1000