Top Philippine Banks For Ofw

A bank account is very important for OFW since it will be the account where the money will be sent from abroad. Opening a new bank account can be hard since you do not know which bank is the best for your criteria. There are really many banks in the Philippines so selecting one is not easy. In this article, you can learn which bank to use to send money to the Philippines.

1. Banco de Oro

Last year, Banco de Oro or commonly known as BDO held the highest portion of OFW remittances so it was named by Central Bank o f the Philippines as the No.1 bank of OFW remittance. BDO has services that it exclusively offer to OFW and their relatives like the Kabayan savings account with only P50 initial deposit with no maintaining balance as long it will be used for remittance. Just like other banks, BDO has Internet banking, phone, mobile and ATM banking across the country.

2. BPI

Recently, Finance Asia awarded Bank of the Philippine Islands as the best bank in the country for cash management in 2009. BPI is my choice bank for sending money to the Philippines. It has the best care fo its customer and very quick in responding to their client’s needs.

3. Metrobank

Metrobank is a famousr bank in the Philippines and listed as a public company in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Last year, it belongs to the top five remittance bank of OFW. It has a wide network of branches not only in the Philippines but also in other countries like US, European countries, Korea and Middle East countries. Many OFW likes Metrobank because of its good customer service and plenty of branches all over the country.

4. Chinabank

ChinaBank ranks fourth as the largest universal bank in the Philippines by market capitalization. It is a member of BancNet, a famous bank organization in the Phlippines. Chinabank has many services through its 388 ATM and 248 branches across the country. One good benefit of using Chinabank is you can transfer money to other bank members of BancNet with just small transfer charge.

5. Union Bank of the Philippines

In the Philippines, Union Bank ranks seventh in the largest banks in terms of assets. It is a public bank listed in Philippine Stock Exchange. Union Bank is a partnership among the companies and government institution in the country. With its wide range of services, many people and OFW find Union Bank a good choice for banking and remittance purposes. You can send money to the Philippines using Union Bank by PayPal, through remittance partners and by bank to bank wire transfer.

Choosing a bank for remittance purposes depends on your needs. Almost all banks offer same services but you need to determine those which are customer-oriented and responds to client’s problems quickly.