Send Money to the Philippines from China

Updated April 29, 2020:  After reading the article, please see also see the comments below. It contains helpful tips from some Filipinos working in China about how to send money to the Philippines from China.

Here are ways to send money from China to the Philippines:

Use of Debit Cards or ATM Cards Issued in China by a Chinese Bank

Open at least 2 accounts in the same bank in China. One could be your payroll account and the other, your personal account. So you can be more flexible with your personal accounts, open an account in another bank. Find a bank that has free online transfer agreement with your first bank.

Then send one of your atm cards or debit cards to your family in the Philippines. Your family can then withdraw from ATMs here in the Philippines that display the Union Pay or China Union Pay logo. Ask them to find an ATM that dispenses 10,000 pesos or 20,000 pesos per withdrawal, so they don’t have to pay a lot for their ATM withdrawals. ATM withdrawal fee is 200 pesos or more per withdrawal.

Wire Transfer or Telegraphic Transfer or Swift Transfer at your Bank in China

China’s major banks offer wire transfers, and usually, they require US dollars. Check your online banking or your mobile app if wire transfer is now offered online even with yuan accounts.

If not offered online, go to your bank branch with your US dollars, proof of source of money, taxation payment and IDs.

  • passport with residence visa or residence permit
  • employment contract
  • pay slips
  • tax receipts

You will need the following information:

.  Remittance currency and amount

.  Recipient’s name, address and contact information in the Philippines

.  Recipient’s Philippine bank name and account number

.  SWIFT code and location of Philippine bank

.  Your contact information in China

A Pinay in China wrote to this blog and said that she sent US$150 to her own BDO Kabayan account in the Philippines through a bank wire transfer at Bank of China (BOC). She said she paid the bank 200 rmb (Chinese yuan renminbi) for the transfer. She later discovered that BDO also charged her about 900 pesos. If we use the exchange rates of US$1=44.26 pesos and 1 RMB=6.63 pesos, she paid a total of 2,256 pesos to send 6,639 pesos to the Philippines! That’s more than one-third of the amount she sent! This Pinay later wrote she’s going to try MoneyGram or Western Union.

Here’s information on outward remittance from the Bank of China (BOC) website.

BPI, Metrobank and PNB have correspondent banks in China where you can make a wire transfer:

BPI lists 18 correspondent banks on its website, some of which are the following:

  • Agricultural Bank of China
  • Bank of China
  • Citibank China
  • DBS Bank China
  • HSBC Bank
  • Standard Chartered Bank China

METROBANK has a long list of correspondent banks in China. Among them are:

Agricultural Bank of China
Bank of China
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (China)
Citibank (China)
HSBC Bank (China)
Korea Exchange Bank (Shanghai, Beijing, Dalian, Tianjin)
Mega International Commercial Bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

PNB has 14 correspondent banks in China. Among them are:
Agricultural Bank of China, Beijing
Bank of China
Citibank Co. Shanghai
Standard Chartered Bank Shanghai
Woori Bank, China

I also asked my friend about how she sent money to the Philippines when she was still working in China. She said she used Western Union. First, she would convert her yuan to USD. How? She would ask her American friends who have US dollar bank accounts in China to withdraw some of their dollars and change her yuans to US dollars. Sometimes she would also used the black market. She’d exchange her yuans with people waiting for customers at bank lobbies and who converts yuans to US dollars. She warns though that you could lose all or part of your money if something goes wrong.

WESTERN UNION

One of the reasons people send money to the Philippines from China through Western Union is that this global money transfer company does not require a lot of documents. Just be ready with your US dollars and your ID.

According to the Western Union China website, you can send money by going to its service providers located in branches of five banks:

  • Postal Savings Bank of China
  • Agricultural Bank of China
  • China Everbright Bank
  • Zhejiang Chouzhou Commercial Bank
  • Bank of Jilin
  • Harbin Bank

Just fill out the SEND MONEY form and show your government-issued ID or other supporting documents. Inform your receiver about:

  • amount sent
  • and the MTCN or Money Transfer Control Number.

Make sure your receiver knows your complete name and that you’re sending from CHINA. You can track your remittance at Western Union’s website. Look for the CHECK STATUS link.

MONEYGRAM

According to the Moneygram China website, it offers remittance services in 410 cities in China. To look for a specific location, just go to the Moneygram China website and click the FIND US button.

In Shanghai, for instance, Moneygram is available at certain branches of:

  • Bank of Communications
  • SZPA SH
  • ICBC SH
  • CITIC SH

Beijing:

  • Bank of China
  • Citic BJ
  • Bank of Communications
  • ICBC

Guangzhou:

  • Bank of China
  • ICBC
  • CITIC
  • Bank of Communications

Chongqing:

  • Bank of Communications
  • ICBC
  • CITIC

 

If the transfer cost estimated by MoneyGram’s online Cost Estimator is our basis, then Moneygram would be the cheapest way to send money from China to the Philippines, as it imposes only US$6 on a remittance amount of US$200. It says, however, that the price could vary depending on the location of the MoneyGram provider.

For all transactions, remember to bring the following:

  • ID  (passport, driver’s license, national identity card or a government-issued ID)
  • proof of address (bank statement or utility bill)

additional for bank wire transfers:

  • residence permit or passport with residence visa
  • employment contract
  • pay slips
  • tax receipts

Currency exchange rates vary, depending on MoneyGram, Western Union or the banks. Western Union explicitly says that it also earns from the exchange rate, in addition to its money transfer charges. 

Remittance to the Philippines offered by METROBANK CHINA

The Philippine bank Metrobank operates several branches in China. Its main office is:

Metropolitan Bank (China) Ltd
L21-22, One ifc, Nanjing ifc
No.347 Middle Jiangdong Road, Jianye District Nanjing
Hotline? 400-864-9000

Its branches are:

Nanjing Branch
Building 32, 189 Leshan Road Biyao Garden, Jianye District Nanjing 210019, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Tel: 86(25)8966-7881 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Shanghai Branch
1st Floor, Metrobank Plaza, 1152 Yan’an xi Road, Changning District Shanghai 200052, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Tel: 86(21)6191-8118 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Pudong Branch
Rm D, New Shanghai International Tower, 360 South Pudong Road, Pudong new area Shanghai 200122,China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(21)6886-0008 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Changzhou Branch
No. 88-103 Jingchenghaoyuan, North Street, Zhonglou District Changzhou 213002, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(519)8806-1611 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Xinbei Branch
8 Tongjiangzhong Road, Xinbei District Changzhou 213022, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(519)8806-1563 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Changzhou Wujin Branch
Building 13, 101 and 102 Wujin Wanda Plaza Changzhou 213161, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(519)8806-1611 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Quanzhou Branch
Units 1302-1303, Nanyi Plaza, No. 666 Fengze Street, Fengze District, Quanzhou, Fujian Province Quanzhou 362000, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(595)2988-9399 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Xiamen Branch
Unit 06-07, Floor 11, Yishan Commercial Center(Xiamen Fortune Center), No. 100 Lujiang Road, Siming District Xiamen 361001, China
Business Hours: 9:00AM – 4:30PM Mon – Fri
Phone: 86(592)211-0265 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

Metrobank’s Beijing Representative
14/F Room 1410, Office Tower One, Henderson Center, 18 Jian Guo Men Nei Street Beijing 100005, China
Tel: 86(10)6518-3359 (8:30AM – 5:30PM Mon – Fri)

ALIPAY or WECHAT mobile apps

If you have a trustworthy friend who is a Chinese national, and who has a National ID, you can ask them if they can use their Alipay or WeChat app to send your money to the Philippines from China.

Disclaimer/Request:   Much research was exerted to make this blogpost, but if you have a different experience, or if you know a better way to send money from China to the Philippines, please share it here so that others may learn from your experience.

31 Comments

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