Sending Money to the Philippines — Remittance Fees

Do you know that the money you pay over the counter to send money is not the only money transfer fee that you pay?

Actually, your total remittance fee consists of two costs:

1. Your remittance fee
2. Plus the margin that the bank or the remittance firm gets from the conversion of your foreign currency into Philippine peso

In some cases, the remittance fee is cheap but the currency conversion doesn’t favor you.  In other cases, the remittance fee is higher, but the currency conversion is just right.

Check the fees below.  According to the World Bank, these fees are the average fees
charged by banks and other remittance services for money transfers.

I compiled this chart in April and I checked again the World Bank site in May, and there are differences in the total fees.  It shows that the foreign currency conversion affects the total remittance fees.
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These are the average money transfer fees ( in US$ ) for a remittance amount of US$500 in April according to the World Bank site.

Note:   The amounts above were compiled last April 24. The amounts change frequently because foreign exchange rates change frequently.

The World Bank tracks money transfer from 26 major remitting countries to 89 receiving countries. In 2010, more than 192 million people sent $440 billion to their recipients.