The best way to send money to the Philippines from the USA

This is the most common withdrawal method and is usually the cheapest option. Depending on the amount of USD you send, it might take a bit longer but usually is almost instant.

All money transfer companies support this delivery method, and will likely process your transfer as an ACH transfer (which is cheaper compared to SWIFT transfers).

The recipient will have PHP land in their account without them needing to do anything.

Multi-currency accounts are not widely available in the Philippines, however, many banks such as BPI and PNB offer foreign accounts where you can deposit common currencies like EUR, USD, GBP, PHP, and others.

You can receive money into this account, and the process will be identical to the bank account.

The only exception is if you are traveling to the Philippines and need to have PHP with you, you can use Revolut (as it’s available in the US) and use it to pay in PHP while in the Philippines.

Tip for businesses: If you’re managing a business in the Philippines, there are a few business multi-currency accounts available, namely Airwallex and Volopay are the biggest options you have.

To learn more about these, check out our guide to business multi-currency accounts.

Similar to the options above, you can receive money directly into mobile money apps and e-wallets like GCash and Maya.

Many money transfer companies like Wise and WorldRemit support PHP transfers directly to these wallets.

Similarly, PHP will arrive at the recipient's app without them needing to do anything.

If your recipient doesn't have a bank account, a pre-paid card is a good alternative.

The process will be the same as above, however, it is worth noting that this is the most anonymous method, especially if you are sending money from one US-based pre-paid card to another pre-paid card in the Philippines.

Pre-paid cards are available from banks such as BPI and PNB.

For picking up cash or having it delivered to your recipient's door, the process is slightly different.

For cash pickup, the recipient will need to visit a branch, while for cash delivery it will be delivered to the recipient’s door.

In both cases, the recipient will need to provide the following information:

• A valid Filipino passport or PhilID card or ePhilID (must exactly match the transfer details)

• Senders information such as their name

• The amount of PHP received (sometimes they may ask how much USD was sent)

• Transfer reference number which is usually given to the sender

For receiving airtime, there is also nothing the recipient needs to do.

Airtime will arrive within minutes to the number entered during the checkout process.

Of the 16 companies servicing USD-PHP transfers, WorldRemit offers the fastest and cheapest Airtime top-up.

There is no limit on how much money you can send to the Philippines, as well as, there is no legal limit on how much you can send from the US.

The main limits to be aware of are the limits imposed by the transfer method you use. In our experience, money transfer companies offer the highest limits.

Here’s a quick overview:

• Western Union will cap the transfer at $19,000 to the Philippines

• Wise will cap the receiving amount at 9,000,000 PHP (around 155,000 USD)

• XE has no transfer limit, however, for transfers over $423,000 you will need to contact them directly instead of using the online portal

• Bank of America is limited to $1,000 per transaction

In addition, if you’re sending over $10,000 to the Philippines, the transfer will be submitted to and reviewed by the IRS.

A bank transfer is the most cost-effective way to fund your transfer to the Philippines from the US. The company offering the best bank transfer price is Sendwave.

If you need money quickly we recommend using an app or cash pick-up option.

Here are your best options by transfer method:

In general, the quicker you need PHP, the more it will cost you in fees.

Usually, cash pick-up, mobile money, and multi-currency accounts are instant (or will take a few minutes at most), however, these are usually limited by amount.

You can generally send up to $5,000 fairly easily and quickly to the Philippines using these methods.

For anything above $5,000, we recommend using online money transfer companies or currency brokers such as Regency FX with a bank transfer option. This will take slightly longer but will guarantee the safety of your funds.

Here’s an overview of the fastest transfer methods:

In any case, avoid using your bank to wire PHP, as it can take up to 10 business days and will be much more expensive.

For regular or scheduled transfers, nothing is better than using a money transfer service or a multi-currency account.

Companies like Wise and Revolut have the features to schedule transfers and create repeat transfers to the Philippines from the US.

We recommend using Wise for recurring transfers as it’s generally easier to use and is the most cost-effective for different transfer amounts.