How to Send Money To The Philippines: Best Remittance and Money Transfer Services

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In this post, we’ll talk about the best remittance and money transfer service companies in the Philippines.

According to the Asian Development Bank’s study on Remittances and Household Behavior in the Philippines, the Philippines relies heavily on remittances from OFW’s (Overseas Filipino Workers) and it accounts for at least 12% of the country’s GDP.

With almost 15% of the Filipino population living abroad, the steadily increasing influx of cash flows from other countries has pushed the need for more reliable remittance companies all over the country. It’s safe to say that there are at least thousands of money transfer services, but we’ll only list down the best companies in terms of speed of remittance, cost per transaction, available locations nationwide, and customer support.

What is a Money Transfer Service?

A money transfer service is a borderless intermediary that allows people to transfer money to anyone in the country or to people abroad without having to pay high fees. These are usually in the form of cashless transactions via online, mobile applications, electronic funds transfer, money orders and wire transfers.

What is a Remittance Service?

Remittance services are non-bank financial centers that serve as intermediaries to enable people to send and receive money to anyone locally or to anyone abroad. Given that majority of Filipinos still remain unbanked, remittance service centers bridge the gap by opening accessible physical locations across the country.

So whether you’re an OFW, or an employer abroad looking for ways to easily pay your virtual assistants from the Philippines, or an e-commerce entrepreneur looking for alternative payment methods, this post is for you!

Best Remittance and Money Transfer Services in the Philippines:

Western Union

With over 200 locations across the globe, Western Union is one of the most popular and reliable money transfers and remittance companies in the World. They’ve been providing money transfer services for over 145 years, and since then, it has grown to a multinational company that has sent a record number of over 268 million transfers.

Western Union’s proposition is its fast, safe, and convenient handling of transactions.

You can send money to the Philippines via 3 easy ways:

Western Union app
Online
In-person- Western Union has more than 55,000 agent locations in the US and 84000 locations in the Philippines. Overall, they have 500,000 pick-up locations around the world.

Western Union Domestic Rates

Amount	Fee
P1-500	P5
P501.00 – 1,000.00	P15
P1,001.00 – 2,000.00	P25
P2,001.00 – 3,000.00	P45
P3,001.00 – 5,000.00	P85
P5,001.00 – 7,000.00	P115
P7,001.00 – 10,000.00	P125
P10,001.00 – 15,000.00	P540
P15,001.00 – 50,000.00	P595
P50,001.00 – above	2% of the amount

credits: Sulit Padala sa Western Union

Western Union International Rates

Amount	Fee
1-1000	P500
10,001-50,000	P550
100,000 – above	P800

How to send money via Western Union

Fill-up the Send Form
Give the Send Form to a Western Union agent by the counter.
Show the agent a valid government ID
Give the agent the money that you’re about to send. Pay the transfer fee.
Keep the receipt and inform the recipient about the tracking number. Do not disclose the details of the receipt to anyone but the recipient.

How to receive money via Western Union

Visit a Western Union branch. In the “Receive Form” fill-up the sender’s complete name, tracking number and amount to be received.
Show the agent a valid government ID.
Get your money and receipt.

Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala

Another reputable money transfer service provider and remittance center that is widely popular in the Philippines is Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala. It has over 25000 branches in the Philippines and it allows you to send and receive money from within or outside the country. With a wide network of accredited remittance partners worldwide, you can expect fast and speedy transactions with them.

Similarly with other remittance centers, with Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala you can send money by going to their branch, via the Cebuana App, or via the Cebuana Portal.

Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala Domestic Rates

https://www.cebuanalhuillier.com/pera-padala/

Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala International Rates

What I love the most about Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala is that the speed of transaction is hassle-free and real time! You can easily access your money the moment it was sent!

How to Send Money via Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala

Go to the nearest Cebuana Lhuillier branch near you.
Fill-up form and give it to a Cebuana Lhuillier agent by the counter.
Show the agent a valid government ID
Give the agent the money that you’re about to send. Pay the transfer fee.
Keep the receipt and inform the recipient about the tracking number. Do not disclose the details of the receipt to anyone but the recipient.

Moneygram

Moneygram is a money transfer and remittance company that is currently based in America. Founded in 1940, it has established itself as a pioneer in global money transfer services. It is the second-largest remittance company in the world and it operates in more than 200 hundred countries with over 350,000 agents around the globe.

There are 4 ways in which you can send money to the Philippines via Moneygram:

via online by registering and logging in to their website
via their mobile app where you can check currency conversions before sending money
via a Moneygram agent branch in a location near you
via sending money to your recipient’s Paymaya visa card. You can send money via this method by first registering and logging in to their website. This transaction is free!

How to receive money from the Philippines via Moneygram:

from your Paymaya account
direct from your bank account or debit card
from your mobile wallet
from Moneygram branches in the Philippines – complete a form, show your government ID, and receive the funds!

Transfer fees can be estimated via this website.

Speed of delivery varies from 1 day to several business days depending on the sender’s location.

LBC HOME

Founded in 1945, LBC has been providing quality courier services for the Filipinos. It has established itself as the market leader in the industry by its ubiquitous branding strategies and by being known for the speed of its services. One of their subsidiaries is LBC Remit Express that allows anyone to send and receive money locally or from abroad.

LBC boasts state-of-the-art technology that ensures safe and fast delivery of money via cash pickups and bank deposits in major banks in the Philippines.

If you’re sending money locally, the recipient can conveniently get the money via GCash or Smart Money where the funds will be available instantly.

You can also send your money via LBC and have them deliver it to the receiver’s home which typically arrives the following day.

For bank deposits, funds usually arrive a day after the deposit.

For local transactions, LBC has the most affordable rates. You can send money to your loved ones for as low as 2 pesos!

For LBC Rates from the USA:

Amount	Fees
$1-100	$6
$101-200	$8
$201-3000	$10
$3001- above	additional $5 for every fraction of 1000

Transferwise

Transferwise is a money transfer service company that is based in London. Founded in 2010, its global user base has been growing rapidly thanks to its unique service offerings like allowing their customers to track their transactions via notifications on their phones and allowing them to receive money with international account details.

You can also hold and convert your money in 28 currencies, all in just one app.

To send money to the Philippines from abroad, Transferwise uses the exchange rate provided by an independent company which is Reuters to ensure low-cost transfers every time.

How to send money to the Philippines via Transferwise:

Go to Transferwise’s website and create a free account
Start the money transfer – via the sender’s debit or credit card or from online banking
Check the exchange rates
Send the money. The recipient gets the money in their currency sent to his/her local bank account in the Philippines.

Transferwise Fees:

For amounts up to $135000, the fee is 0.75% of the amount plus $3.50. For amounts over $135000, fee is 0.75% of the inital $135,000 plus 0.63% on anything over + $ 3.50

Xoom

Xoom is a subsidiary of Paypal services that allows people to send money from different parts of the globe. It is trusted by 250 million customers around the world

The main difference between Xoom and Paypal is that Xoom is most commonly used for non-commercial transactions and it is only used by individuals. With Xoom, the money can be directly sent to the recipient’s bank account even if the sender doesn’t provide an email address.

Sending money to the Philippines via Xoom:

Sign-up via the Xoom website.
If you opt for a cash pickup, enter the amount you’re about to send. Fill-up details like your recipient’s name, address, and phone number. Choose the nearest location for easy cash pickup. Your recipient can get the money from Cebuana Lhuillier, or M. Lhuillier. Pay via Paypal, your bank account, debit, or credit card.
If you opt to send directly to your recipient’s bank account, check the accredited banks here.
If you want to send the money directly to the recipient’s home address, choose a trusted delivery service provider in the Philippines including Signed and Delivered (S&D) and Pay via Paypal, your bank account, debit, or credit card.

Xoom transfer speeds vary from 6 hours to 2 days depending on the sender’s country, and the mode of delivery.

Xoom Fees: