Mas gusto mo bang isagot ng cashier ay DENIED at hindi matuloy ang transaction? Or mas gusto mong matuloy yong transaction and then later on, ma-charge ka ng 700 pesos over credit limit fee?

This happened to me, with my Metrobank MFree, but this time, hindi sa store o sa shop, kundi sa Internet. When I checked, malaki pa ang aking available credit limit, so I charged $10 to buy a domain name from GoDaddy. Later, when I got my statement, I was surprised to see an over-credit-limit fee of 700 pesos! Yong $10, mga 400 plus lang, pero ang penalty ko 700!

I checked my statement kasi bakit ako over credit limit, and I was further surprised to find a big posting — merong amount na hindi pala na-post na noong September pa dapat na-post. I checked din my old statements of account, baka nadoble ang posting, at hindi naman. Delayed by 3 months ang posting!

I thought about bakit in-approve ng Metrobank Card system yong online payment kung wala na pala akong credit, kasi ang ibang cards naman usually DENIED ang response kapag over the limit na. Siguro maraming cases na sa Metrobank na nagreklamo ang mga cardholders nila about failed business transactions dahil DENIED ang payments nila due to OVER CREDIT LIMIT.

Sa BPI Classic, walang over-the-limit fee because BPI denies purchases when the credit is used up. Sa statement of account ng BPI card ko, nakalagay na “BPI reserves the right to disappove any purchases or cash advance that exceeds your credit limit.”

Anyway, I called Metrobank Customer Service about it, and the customer officer was very nice. I will know next week if my 700 over credit limit fee was reversed. I think I have a good chance because it’s my first time to be charged with over limit fee, and that there was a much delayed big posting.

BPI Internet banking is perhaps the cheapest, fastest and most secure way
to send money from England to the Philippines.  Because it’s done over the Internet, the credit process is instant or within minutes of clicking keys on your PC or laptop.

For remittances up to 50,000 British pounds, the remittance fee is only 5 pounds,
according to the BPI Europe website.

Of course, if you don’t have yet the required accounts, you must do the following first:

• You must open a BPI Europe account.
• You must enroll this account in BPI EXpress Online.
• You must attach to your Express Online account your BPI, BPI Family, or BPI Direct account (the Philippine account to which you are sending your money to).

Note:   This remittance system is not available to businesses. It’s not also offered to persons engaged in the money-transfer-to-Philippines business.

If you’re frequently sending money to the Philippines from the UK, consider opening a BPI Europe account so that you can enroll this account in BPI Express Online and then make your money transfers online.

2 Ways to Open a BPIE Star account:   (Star means Save, Transact And Remit)

1.  Visit BPI Europe in London and open an account.  Bring the required documents.

BPI Europe PlC
26A and 27A Earl’s Court Gardens
London, SW5 0SZ

2.  Or Send the required documents thru post using the address above.

The documents required are the following:

• Original or Authenticated copy of your passport or UK driver’s license with photo

authentication by your GP, solicitor or your bank

• Original copy of proof of address

can be your bank statement, credit card statement, utility bill or council tax bill

• One ID photo
• Initial cash deposit of 10 pounds

can be a check issued to your name

• Filled-out Customer Information Sheet

can be downloaded from the BPI Europe website (bpieuropeplc.com)
or can be requested thru email (bpinoy@bpieuropeplc.com)

For more info:

Tel No.: 0207 835 0088
Office hours: from Monday to Friday and Sunday

Related Articles:

Secured BPI Credit Cards for OFWs

BPI Credit Card Payment for College Tuition Fees

and if you’re in the U.S., you can try using this to send money to your family or recipient in the Philippines if it’s really the cheapest way for U.S.-Philippine remittance.

At the website of the WorldBank, its chart ranks Wells Fargo as charging among the lowest total remittance cost, which refer to transfer cost plus foreign exchange cost.

Wells Fargo says that its remittance fee is only:

• $7 if cash
• $5 if from a Wells Fargo bank account.

You can send money for pick-up or deposit at any branch of the following:

• Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
• Banco de Oro (BDO)
• M Lhuillier — (cash pickup only)

Other advantages of using this service to send money:

• No enrollment fee or no yearly or monthly maintenance fee
• No service fee to be paid by your recipient
• Competitive exchange rate
• Maximum amount you can send is $3,000 per day for BDO and BPI remittances and $1,000 for M Lhuillier remittance.
• You can get a discount if you’re sending from a Wells Fargo checking account

Wells Fargo ExpressSend service hotline for sending: 1-800-869-3557
hotline for more information: 1–800–556–0605

Related Articles:

BDO Correspondent Banks for Sending Money to the Philippines
Top 10 Banks in the Philippines based on Assets, Deposits and Capital
Philippine National Bank Branches and Remittance Centers in California

Again, I say that credit cards are like KNIVES — they are useful, but they can kill if you don’t know how to use them.

How can they kill you?

1. If you misplace or lose your credit card, you’ll be charged with thousands of pesos you didn’t use in just a few minutes. It’s super easy for thieves to use a stolen card.

2. You’ll buy and buy and charge and charge, and in just a few hours, you’ve accumulated 20,000 pesos or much more in debt.

When you have 20,000 pesos, or 100,000 pesos, or more in credit card debt, and you can’t pay even the minimum due, you’re in BIG TROUBLE. The stress can KILL you.

Nevertheless, if you’re careful with money, a credit card can be used as a convenient temporary gap filler.
(Hindi ka na kelangang maghagilap pa ng kung sino-sinong mahiraman, kasi nakakahiya. Gagamitin mo ang credit card to pay something very important while waiting for a certain amount of money that is SURELY coming, na babayaran din agad yong credit card debt nang BUONG-BUO, in FULL AMOUNT, pag andiyan na yong pera.) Additionally, you can build a good credit record for future purposes.

I’ve written previously a blogpost on credit card for OFWs.

Here’s a better and clearer info from Bong, as he has shared in the Comments section.

For Secured Credit Cards, the requirements are simple — the same as the requirements needed when opening an ordinary bank account.

The thing is, since “secured” ang credit card, the bank gets to hold your passbook for as long as you hold the credit card. The maximum credit limit depends on the amount you deposit with them (usually 80% of your total deposit).

For example, I applied for EXPRESS START (secured credit card program ng BPI), opened a passbook account with BPI (I chose the highest yielding passbook account type – they will ask you what type of account you would like to open with the Express Start), then submitted the requirements (basically just 2 valid IDs & pictures, thats it!).

After that, may ipapa-sign sila na contract — Deed of Assignment — which basically says that the bank will hold your deposit for as long as you are using the credit card. 1 year yata ang minimum, but you can terminate the contract for a fee of course.

The good thing about this is — this is hassle-free because of minimum requirements, plus maingat ako sa gastos kasi basically hawak ng bank ang deposits ko, and at the same time, hindi ko pa nagagalaw ang ipon ko — 100,000 pesos ang deposit ko sa BPI, 80,000 ang assigned credit limit ko.

After a year of use, the bank can even give you an “UNSECURED CARD” kung maganda ang credit score mo. By the way, kung sa BPI kayo mag-apply, choose MASTERCARD. Don’t choose the BPI express credit classic.

Notes from Nors:

Advantages of BPI Mastercard:

- More merchants use Mastercard than Classic
- Can be used for international purchases
- Can be used for Internet purchases
- Can be used to apply for free E-credit (credit limit solely for Internet purchases,
so the rest of the credit limit is protected)

Advantages of BPI Classic

- Can be used to pay tuition fees in BPI accredited schools (the card is swiped by school cashiers)
- Lower interest rate
- Lower annual fee

Additional Notes From Bong:

Actually, ang BPI (Express Start), HSBC, BDO, UNIONBANK (Visa), Metrobank and PNB (ASK card specifically for OFWs) all offer secured credit cards. All you need is an account sa bank nila and that’s all.
Try the PNB ASK card, inquire na lang kayo. I heard this type of secured credit card was made for OFWs.

Related Articles:
No Annual Fee Credit Card in the Philippines — Metrobank M
Free from Credit Cards, At Last!
Credit Cards in the Philippines — Unfair Collection Practices
Credit Card Fees — Credit Cards Philippines

You can also use SIP to pay for nursery, prep, elementary and high school fees.

For accredited schools, you just ask the school cashier to swipe your BPI Express Credit card.

For non-accredited schools,  submit school assessment slips or statements and school receipts to a BPI Express Center or a BPI/BPI Family branch. You’ll receive cash through your BPI account the next banking day if you apply at an Express Banking Center or within 3 days if you apply at a branch or a check within 3 days of application.

Here’s an alphabetical list of colleges and universities accredited by BPI for instant credit card payments at school cashier counters:

Ama Computer College
Asia Pacific College
Asian Institute of Management
Assumption College – San Lorenzo
Ateneo de Manila – Quezon City
Ateneo de Manila – Rockwell
Ateneo de Davao University
Central Philippine University
Centro Escolar University
Colegio De San Juan De Letran
Colegio de San Lorenzo
College of Oral Implantology
Don Bosco Technical College
Far Eastern University
Fatima Medical Science
FEU-East Asia College
First Integrated Educational Systems
Holy Child School of Davao
Informatics College Manila Inc.
ICCT Colleges Foundation
Kester Grant College
Lyceum of the Philippines
Meycauayan College
Meycauayan Doctors
Miriam College
MSA Group Inc.
National College of Science
Our Lady of Fatima College
Our Lady of Perpetual Succor
Pasig Catholic College
Philippine Women’s College of Davao
Saint Pedro Poveda College
San Beda College Alabang
San Juan De Dios Education
Siliman University
Sotogrande Teaching Institute
Southville International School
Southwestern University
St Jude College
St Paul University
Thomas More College
Trace College
University of Asia and the Pacific
University of San Jose Recoletos
University of Santo Tomas
University of Perpetual Help
University of San Carlos
University of St La Salle

*The list of accredited nursery, prep, elementary, high schools and other institutes will be included in another blogpost.

Other notes:

1.  The monthly add-on rate ranges from 1 to 1.5 percent.

2.  The minimum amount to be charged is 3,000 pesos.

3.  You must be in good credit standing with BPI.

4.  Your SIP credit limit can be increased up to 3 times depending on how long you’ve been a BPI credit cardholder and how you’ve handled your payments.

5.  The promotional interest rate can change without prior notice.

How to Compute Your Monthly Payment:

Multiply the loan amount by factor rate (Refer to the table)

Example: Loan amount is 20,000 pesos with term of one year.

Monthly payment = 20,000 pesos x 0.093333 = 1,866.66 pesos

You pay BPI 1,866.66 pesos every month for 12 months.

Ang total payment mo would be 1,866.66 x 12 = 22,399.92

Ang total interest na babayaran mo ay 2,399.92

Related Articles:

Tuition Fees at FEU and Some Other Universities in Manila, Philippines
Low Interest Personal Loans in the Philippines
Some Cheap Loans in the Philippines Are Not Really Cheap

As an investor in bank stocks, certainly you want your bank to have a high Return on Equity (ROE) rate.  As investors know,  ROE represents a company’s net income in comparison with stockholders’ investments.  ROE = net income divided by stockholders’ equity.

But as a plain bank customer, do you want your bank to top bank rankings based on ROE?

Oftentimes we ask ourselves why banks give so little interest on our time deposits and then later we see them declaring super high levels of net income and ROE.

Based on Return on Equity, here are the top banks in the Philippines as of September 2010:

1 East West Banking Corp.  –  34.27 %
2 Standard Chartered Bank  –  23.09 %
3 Security Bank Corp.  –  22.98 %
4 Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp.  –  20.70 %
5 Land Bank of the Philippines  –  18.64 %
6 Bank of the Philippine Islands  –  17.65 %
7 Deutsche Bank  –  17.20 %
8 China Banking Corp.  –  16.61 %
9 BDO Private Bank  –  16.37 %
10 Union Bank of the Philippines  –  16.06 %
11 Citibank N.A.  –  15.70 %
12 Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.  –  15.63 %
13 United Coconut Planters Bank  –  15.63 %
14 Internationale Nederlanden Groep BK  –  15.12 %
15 Asia United Bank Corp.  –  15.02 %
16 Development Bank of the Philippines  –  14.49 %
17 Philippine Trust Co.  –  13.14 %
18 Banco de Oro Unibank  –  11.12 %
19 Philippine National Bank  –  10.89 %
20 Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ  –  9.83 %
21 Chinatrust Philippines  –  9.26 %
22 Philippine Veterans Bank  –  7.84 %
23 Korea Exchange Bank  –  7.81 %
24 Mega International Commercial Bank  –  7.48 %
25 Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.  — 7.24 %
26 Allied Banking Corp. –  6.96 %
27 Bank of Commerce  –  5.25 %
28 JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.  –  4.21 %
29 Royal Bank of Scotland Philippines  –  1.94 %
30 Mizuho Corporate Bank Manila  –  1.11 %
31 Bangkok Bank Public Co.  –  1.05 %
32 ANZ Banking Group  –  0.09 %
33 Bank of America N.A.  –  -0.02 %
34 Bank of China Manila  –  -1.47 %
35 Maybank Philippines  –  -1.85 %
36 Al-Amanah Islamic Bank of the Phil  –  -6.00 %
37 Philippine Bank of Communications  –  -11.92 %
38 Export and Industry Bank  –  -36.15 %

It’s interesting to note that the banks in the list above — those with highest ROE — are not the banks with the highest deposits, assets or capital.

Look at Metrobank — it’s second in total deposits, second in total assets, and second in total capital as of Sep 2010, but it’s 25th in ROE. Does this mean Metrobank is not taking much from customers?

Based on Total Deposits:

1. Banco de Oro Unibank  –  693.903 billion pesos
2. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.  –  570.332
3. Bank of the Philippine Islands  –  494.465
4. Land Bank of the Philippines  –  398.668
5. Philippine National Bank  –  234.086
6. China Banking Corp.  –  189.121
7. Union Bank of the Philippines  –  184.719
8. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.  –  172.048
9. Citibank NA  –  140.905
10. United Coconut Planters Bank  –  136.553

Related Articles:

Top Banks in the Philippines Based on Alexa Ranking

Top 10 Banks in the Philippines based on Assets, Deposits and Capital

List of Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks, Commercial Banks

Top 27 Savings Banks in the Philippines — or Top 27 Thrift Banks

Compete is a web service that compares the performance of bank websites in several areas.  I checked the performances of these banks online on only two areas — number of unique visitors and number of visits — on February 2011, which is the latest update on Compete.

Top Banks Based on Number of Unique Visitors to the Bank Website in a Month

1.  BPI Bank of the Philippine Islands
bpiexpressonline.com — 10,616 unique visitors

2.  PNB Philippine National Bank
pnb.com.ph — 9,792

3.  BDO Banco de Oro Unibank
bdo.com.ph — 9,022

4.  BDO Banco de Oro Unibank
mybdo.com.ph — 7,067

5.  CITIBANK Citibank NA
citibank.com.ph — 4,077

6.  RCBC Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
rcbc.com — 2,987

7.  METROBANK Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.
metrobank.com.ph — 2,969

8.  UNION BANK Union Bank of the Philippines
unionbankph.com — 2,891

9.  EASTWEST Eastwest Banking Corp.
eastwestbanker.com — 2,517

10.  HSBC
hsbc.com.ph — 2,298

11.  LANDBANK Land Bank of the Philippines
landbank.com — 1,087

12.  CHINABANK China Banking Corp.
chinabank.ph — 743

Note:  I checked only the Compete rankings of bank websites that have been ranking high on Alexa.

Related Articles:

Top 10 Banks in the Philippines based on Assets, Deposits and Capital

List of Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks, Commercial Banks

Top 27 Savings Banks in the Philippines — or Top 27 Thrift Banks

The banks’ high rankings are a good indication:

• that their products and services are attracting strong interest from new and old customers and
• that their Internet banking systems are being used by more banking clients.

Only 6 bank websites were able to rank within the Top 500 Websites in the Philippines as of April 4, 2011.

1. unionbankph.com of Union Bank of the Philippines –  Rank #  67
2. bpiexpressonline.com of Bank of the Philippine Islands –  Rank # 69
3. bdo.com.ph of Banco de Oro –  Rank # 154
4. mybdo.com.ph of Banco de Oro –  Rank # 223
5. hsbc.com.ph of HSBC –  Rank #255
6. citibank.com.ph of Citibank –  Rank # 494

I looked for the rankings of the other biggest banks in the Philippines, and these are their rankings:

• metrobank.com.ph of Metrobank — Rank# 631
• eastwestbanker.com of East West Banking Corp. — Rank# 669
  
• chinabank.ph of China Bank — Rank# 883
• pnb.com.ph of Philippine National Bank — Rank# 1,296
• rcbc.com of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. — Rank# 4,090
• landbank.com of Landbank — Rank# 13,857
• standardchartered.com of  Standard Chartered Bank — Rank#3,570 (global), ranking in the Philippines not posted
  
• devbankphil.com.ph of Development Bank of the Philippines — Rank# 6,193,311 (global), ranking in the Philippines not posted
• db.com/philippines/ of Deutsche Bank — Rank# 15,798

Alexa:  Some say Alexa is not accurate because there are limits to its counting, but the other popular traffic estimator, Quantcast, also has limits, so Alexa can satisfy our purposes for the time being.

Related Articles:

List of Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks, Commercial Banks

Top 27 Savings Banks in the Philippines — or Top 27 Thrift Banks

Savings Accounts in the Philippines with the Lowest Maintaining Balances

You can choose from four types:

1.  Cash Card or Debit Card — The key advantage of this card is No Maintaining Balance.

Walang maintaining balance kasi hindi regular deposit account ang cash card. Merong info about this below.

2.  Savings Account with the Lowest Maintaining Balance

You can choose one from among the accounts offered by banks in this list of low-maintaining-balance savings accounts in the Philippines.

3.  Savings Account Designed for Kids — The advantages of this account are the promos attached to this account.

Go to this post to check out savings accounts for kids, offered by Philippine banks.

4.  Visa or Mastercard Debit Card — This type is just like any cash card, but it offers more features, particularly Internet use.  Currently, the most popular in the Philippines is the Union Bank Eon card.  Will write about this card type soon.

In the meantime, let’s focus on CASH CARDS.

The advantages of Cash Cards are:

• No maintaining balance
• Free ATM withdrawal, free ATM deposit, free ATM balance inquiry, and free over-the-counter deposit (for most, but not all)
• You can attach it to your Internet banking account, so you can transfer money to it online (for many, but not all)
• No annual fee (for most, but not all)
• No expiration date (for most, but not all)
• You can enroll in phone banking (for many, but not all)

Important notes to remember about Cash Cards:

• You withdraw through the ATM only;  you CANNOT withdraw over the counter  (for most banks, but not all).
• Reload or deposit to your cash card over the counter  (for others, you can deposit through the ATM, or make ATM or online transfer).
• A cash card is NOT a regular bank account, so it’s NOT insured by the PDIC.  Cash cards are debit cards and are just like prepaid cards.
• A cash card does NOT earn interest.
• As you already know, you pay a fee if you withdraw thru the ATMs of other banks.

Here are some of the Cash Cards in the Philippines:

BDO Cash Card

This cash card has two types for individuals:

Pre-Embossed:  Hindi nakalagay ang pangalan mo sa card. Makukuha mo agad ang card when you apply. The maximum balance limit is 10,000 pesos.

Embossed:  Ilalagay ang name mo sa card. Wait for 3 to 5 days, then you go back to BDO to claim the card. The maximum balance limit is 25,000 pesos.

• Withdrawal is through ATM only.  Free, but there’s a limit of 5 withdrawals per day.
• To get this card, go to a BDO branch and apply with your ID.  You pay about 150 pesos for the card (amount might have changed).
• Minimum reload or deposit is 100 pesos.  No deposit charge, it’s free.
• To deposit, you go to BDO and fill up the Card Sale/Reload Slip.
• You can attach this to your BDO Internet banking account and transfer money to it.  The same for phone and mobile banking.
• You can also deposit through the ATM.
• You can use it to pay your bills through the ATM, Internet, phone and mobile banking.
• There’s a dormancy charge:  you must do at least one transaction every 6 months (for Pre-Embossed) and every 12 months (for Embossed)
• You cannot use this for telephone or mail orders.

LANDBANK Cash Card

• No opening deposit
• No maintaining balance
• No dormancy period
• Withdrawal up to 50,000 pesos per day
• Can be used for remittance
• Maximum balance is 100,000 pesos
• To get this cash card, just apply with your ID.  Pay 100 pesos for the card.
• Reactivate the card after three years.  Pay 50 pesos.
• You can request for a bank statement.

BPI Express Cash Card

• No maintaining balance
• ATM withdrawal fee is 15 pesos per withdrawal
• Withdraw only through the ATM.
• Valid for 2 years, renewable, but if you’re late in renewing, check charges before you renew.
• You can get this card at any BPI or BPI Family branch, or any BPI Express Banking Center with your ID. Pay about 150 pesos.
• You can track your last five transactions thru the ATM.
• Minimum ATM withdrawal is 500 pesos.
• Valid for use only in the Philippines.
• You can attach this to your Internet, phone, or mobile banking account, or you can enroll it as your main account.
• Maximum withdrawal per day is 10,000 pesos.

RCBC MyWallet Cash Card

RCBC offers 4 MyWallet cash cards

1.  RCBC MyWallet
2.  Mercury Drug-MyWallet Card:  Collect rewards points from your purchases from Mercury Drug Store.
3. RCBC MyWallet Visa
4. RCBC MyWallet MRT:  Pay your MRT fares at chosen stations (Check MRT first)

• You can buy any of these at RCBC or at RCBC Savings Bank.
• Free ATM withdrawal, free ATM balance inquiry (RCBC and RCBC Savings ATMs)
• Pay 10 pesos to reload or deposit over the counter.
• Pay 10 pesos to transfer money from an RCBC account to MyWallet over the counter.
• You pay 50 pesos if you withdraw over the counter.
• Pay 10 pesos to transfer money from an RCBC or RCBC Savings account to MyWallet thru the ATM.
• Maximum balance is 100,000 pesos.
• No maintaining balance

ALLIED BANK ABC Cash Card

• No expiration date
• No renewal fee
• No maintaining balance
• Maximum balance is 100,000 pesos
• Accept remittance from OFWs
• Get your cash card for 100 pesos. You can get it for free if you load your card immediately with 500 pesos.

Security Bank SB Cash Card

• No initial amount to open
• No maintaining balance
• No annual fee
• No card expiration
• You can enroll in Internet, phone, and mobile banking

MAYBANK Cash Cards

1.  My CashCard

• No initial deposit
• No maintaining balance
• No charge for first two interbank withdrawal

2.  Money2U ATM Cash Card

• No initial deposit
• No maintaining malance
• Accept money from abroad
• No charge for first two interbank withdrawal

Related Articles:

Savings Accounts in the Philippines with the Lowest Maintaining Balances
BPI and BDO Internet Banking — Free and Quick Ways to Send Your Children’s Allowance
Ofws Parents Take Advantage of Free Internet Banking to Manage Your Childrens Weekly Allowance
Tuition Fees at FEU and Some Other Universities in Manila, Philippines
BPI, BDO, or Metrobank Fees — Why Keep Paying Them?