Hi guys,

To all Ateneans who work or study in the U.S., what is the cheapest means of sending money to Manila?

If I open a dollar account at Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered here in Manila, will I be able to make an "inter-branch deposit" at their branches in the US without paying any fees?

Also, can a Filipino citizen working in the US open a savings account at a US bank? Assuming that this is allowed, can I deposit money to my Citibank account in New York from a Citibank branch in, say, Los Angeles? If so, are there fees for these types of transactions?

Sorry if I sound like a dummy. My US posting will be my first trip abroad.

I will really appreciate any advice. =)

+amdg

[ October 28, 2002: Message edited by: Barok5 ]

I used to send money from my PNC Bank Account (US) to my brother's HSBC account in Ortigas.
What happens is that the recieving branch turns out to be HSBC New York.
It turned out to be just a local wire transfer from one US bank to another US bank.
There are no other fees incurred between Ortigas and NY branches of HSBC.
(Instead of being charged 40 dollars for international transfer by PNC Bank, I just get charged 10 dollars)

You should probably ask HSBC first, if this is still the case. Also each state might impose different fees.

A Filipino Citizen can open a savings account. But they might ask you for an SSN
(Social Security Number). You would probably be given an SSN by your company for tax purposes.
Or else you cannot work there(?)


Just an advice:
Once you get here in the US, use INGDirect for you savings account, 2.75% APR (actually it was 6 percent before but it has gone down to this rate but it is still
probably the highest rate outside of long-term CDs.) -
Also ING Direct does not require a maintaining balance, you can withdraw money anytime without penalties.

I used this Savings Account to generate money for my car wash expenses every month.

Note: Of course, bank rules change often so when you are applying try to confirm what I said about INGdirect.

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: G35 ]

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: G35 ]

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: G35 ]

Regarding your last question,

YES you can. Your account number for that Bank is universal all over the US.

Example:
My uncle owes me money, he is from NJ and I'm from another state. He just goes to a branch of my bank there in Jersey and just deposit money to my account number.

Call the customer service of the bank they know better.

(Some banks might have different rules/regulations/fees for each state).

Which state are you going to?

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: G35 ]

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: G35 ]

wat about western union?!?!? I think thru western union, you can send money online using master card, trhu phone call or thru personally going to a western union branch. Asie from the money transfer and applicable fees, you will also have to indicate the western union locatino to which u wish to send ur money. They have locations worldwide, you can visit their websites.

Hmm, then the recepient can get the money just by showing some valid id like driver's license or passport and answering some TEST questions you made.

I dont know anything about the fees however.

I transfer money through BPI. Transfers are done through money order. If the account you are transferring to is a Peso account, the charge is US$ 7.00 per transaction. It gets more expensive if the account you are transferring to is a Dollar account; I believe the fees have brackets in this case.

Can you open a US account? Yes, but you would need an SSN.

Guys,

Thank you very much for your informative replies. Unfortunately, my posting to Florida has been cancelled. Anyway, I appreciate all your advice.

Thank you for your time and I hope that all is well there in the U.S.