# US Dollars ?



## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

I wonder if US paper currency is accepted at Philippine businesses ?

When I visited Israel everyone wanted dollars, I think to save as their currency has more inflation than the US dollar (at that time).


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

It's not accepted, as far as I know, you'll end up using a money changer and the money changers are only in the city areas and not so easy to find but they have their own mini building or mini offices marked.


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

What about using USA debit card in Philippine ATMs ?


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Yes but talk to your bank as I don't know your banks affiliations with international debits especially give what you said in a previous post that you can't make transfers online nor telephone banking with regards to the SRRV deposit.
Also advise your bank that you will be overseas and the country/s so they don't block your card/s.

You can also order Pesos through your bank so you have some cash when you get here, say PHP 10K or US 200 bucks.

As M.C.A. said only money changers and they will offer you a better rate than a local bank for US dollars.

An example: I flew to Palawan 10 or 11 years ago for a holiday, we were living in Manila back then. I took about PHP 10 or 12K and after landing bused it to El Nido, went to check into the hotel and they didn't accept credit nor debit cards,,,,,, went to another hotel and the same thing so paid cash for the room for a couple of nights thinking I will simply go to an ATM and draw more funds,,,,,,, Nada, No ATM's in El Nido, apparently to do with internet? I was fortunate enough to have 5 x 20 dollar US bills in the back of my wallet from a trip to the US some months before and turned out to be a life saver, money changer and another PHP 5K but any trip I did after that I researched and planned a lot better.
I'm sure El Nido has ATM's these days.

Good luck Howard and keep your research up.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

I would talk with your bank Howard and see if they will accept an ATM card overseas and some ATM's won't work they'll only work if you have a Philippine bank ATM card plus many of the machines run out of money or have a poor signal so the transaction will time out.

I would think though that an ATM machine in a large mall would be able to handle your transaction and don't forget they pull the card in, the machines here are very outdated so if you lose that ATM card then what, especially in a mall forget it. To be safe I'd use an ATM card outside a major bank and the ATM machine is connected to the building so if it does keep your card you can request to get it back inside and during banking hours.

No worries with dollars like BigPearl mentioned, you'll have to either use a money changer or at least you have an option of payment. Once you get your SRRV you could open a checking or dollar account with a bank that will accept transfers and at least have access to money.


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

My Costco VISA says no foreign transaction fees.
But getting cash with the card costs 5%.

For cash, it is probably best to have a PH bank account, and deposit a USA check ?
I assume SRRV person can open a bank account.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Lol, Time to get a real bank Howard and best to come here many times before you even consider an SRRV.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Howard_Z said:


> My Costco VISA says no foreign transaction fees.
> But getting cash with the card costs 5%.
> 
> For cash, it is probably best to have a PH bank account, and deposit a USA check ?
> I assume SRRV person can open a bank account.


You're allowed to open up a Philippine bank account but the catch-all is that they're looking for an ACR card, it's a requirement IAW their banking rules, and the SRRV holders get an ID card so they aren't required to get an ACR card but the law is with the SRRV holder and yet it still comes down the bank manager for approval.

Not all banks are the same so BigPearl makes a good point, my bank has a $2000 peso per check limitation PNB, I found out the hard way during Covid I deposited a much larger check only to find out I had to go back to the bank write out a check for $2000, they didn't catch it for some reason, but I can with the same transaction write more checks, so each check limitation is $2000 with a 200 peso or $4 per check. 

PNB also has a pensioner account; the charge is $5 for an electronic transfer from my military pension, so you can set it up this way and it can only be in your name, the minimum deposit to open up a PNB account is a $500 balance you must keep it at that level.

I think? BPI doesn't have so many limits on deposits, transfers, or withdrawals but I'm not sure, maybe BigPearl or Gary can recommend a much better bank? or anyone else. So when you do pick a bank this is something to take in mind, not only do you need a bank account here but possibly a bank that also can sell you a Condo if you choose that route as your SRRV deposit.

In two years I can withdraw my Social Security so I just may open up with another bank like BDO and have my Social Security deposited this way, they have a lower deposit requirement it has no interest and it's $200 but they also have the $500 deposit with a very low-interest savings rate.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Howard_Z said:


> My Costco VISA says no foreign transaction fees.
> But getting cash with the card costs 5%.
> 
> For cash, it is probably best to have a PH bank account, and deposit a USA check ?
> I assume SRRV person can open a bank account.


If I'm not mistaken the S & R private club grocery chain here is owned by Costco so I thought I'd share that with you.


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

So, this is sounding like a mess.

If I fly to Philippines for a 1 or 2 month visit....I can use a VISA card for a hotel.
But if I want to rent a house or apartment, how do I pay for it ?
And if I shop or eat at a restaurant which does not take VISA, how do I pay for it ?

US Dollars - you say they will not accept.
I can not open a bank account.
The Costco VISA card in an ATM will cost me 5% plus the bank's ATM fees.

Is PayPal the way ?


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

cash of course for rent of house......hotel is different. When i first went back to pinas in 08 hardly anywhere took credit cards......many do now. At that time it was even harder to open bank acct.......I took big us dollars for 4 yrs and then converted when i needed. Last I knew u could carry 9,999.00 in country....you are only staying 1-2 months then you should have no problem. I had travelled to 6 islands and lived with the native populations....I learned to live and eat somewhat like a filipino. My health got much better. Before I started collecting my s.s. and pension as a family of 3 we had learned to live on 300 usd a month including rent of a nice 2 story house and we had a newborn baby. I paid cash for his cesearian section at hospital. I also paid cash for new bike. After my s.s. started I still lived cheaply but less than 1000 usd a month. If you are seriously thinking of going,you must adapt. Also learn tawad tawad po(bargain)its expected in the culture but not on hotels etc. Philippines is its own way.....its not what you are use to.


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

I like PNB over BPI because PNB let's you take 50,000 peso per day to BPI 20,000 peso ATM limit. 
To be honest my wife uses GCash for a lot of stuff now. I bought Philippine Airline tickets, food at store and pay all utilities with GCash. Other people will accept it as payment so you don't have to carry cash. You have a record of transactions with GCash so they can't claim you never paid. 
A few years back you needed cash period. Now GCash gets it done. Credit cards are needed for hotels and maybe hospital stays. Makes it easy to have a credit line for emergencies. 
I rented a house only twice. Once with cash and the other with a bank wire to an account. That was over 5 years ago. Now I just transfer from ATM account to GCash and pay for stuff. You can even move money from GCash back into s bank ATM account. 
I live in the city and not countryside so I don't carry a lot of cash just a phone. If I was in the middle of nowhere better have a wad of blue notes ready. 
If I was coming to stay you can bring the $10k without issue and i would hold on to some in case you end up flying somewhere and need to exchange money, or spend in USA.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

amcan13 said:


> I like PNB over BPI because PNB let's you take 50,000 peso per day to BPI 20,000 peso ATM limit.
> To be honest my wife uses GCash for a lot of stuff now. I bought Philippine Airline tickets, food at store and pay all utilities with GCash. Other people will accept it as payment so you don't have to carry cash. You have a record of transactions with GCash so they can't claim you never paid.
> A few years back you needed cash period. Now GCash gets it done. Credit cards are needed for hotels and maybe hospital stays. Makes it easy to have a credit line for emergencies.
> I rented a house only twice. Once with cash and the other with a bank wire to an account. That was over 5 years ago. Now I just transfer from ATM account to GCash and pay for stuff. You can even move money from GCash back into s bank ATM account.
> ...


Yes bring a bit of cash but only exchange enough to get you going for a day or two, the airport exchange rates are very poor, similarly SM malls. Money changers tend to give the better rates. Make sure your dollars are crisp and clean, no writings on them or tears otherwise you will be taking them home with you, also large denominations, not one's, fives or tens. The wife uses gcash occasionally but doesn't like the fees.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

Howard_Z said:


> I wonder if US paper currency is accepted at Philippine businesses ?
> 
> When I visited Israel everyone wanted dollars, I think to save as their currency has more inflation than the US dollar (at that time).


The only business's I have seen take dollars on a regular basis are the duty free stores in Subic and Clark Freeports Zones. They make more money that way, playing with the exchange rates.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> If I'm not mistaken the S & R private club grocery chain here is owned by Costco so I thought I'd share that with you.


No. It started out as a Price Club / Costco venture but in 2005 was sold to one of the oligarchs. Now it is part of PureGold.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26R_Membership_Shopping


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Gary D said:


> Yes bring a bit of cash but only exchange enough to get you going for a day or two, the airport exchange rates are very poor, similarly SM malls. Money changers tend to give the better rates. Make sure your dollars are crisp and clean, no writings on them or tears otherwise you will be taking them home with you, also large denominations, not one's, fives or tens. The wife uses gcash occasionally but doesn't like the fees.


Interesting you say that Gary with Gcash as I don't get any fees but limit my account and transactions to 8K or less per month and really only use it for internet and phone credit, occasionally other things but never a fee, staying within the 8 K limit per month there are no fees.
Yep, money changers give better rates and you are right with good quality bills or they are rejected.

Only my experience so far.

Cheers, Steve.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

bigpearl said:


> Interesting you say that Gary with Gcash as I don't get any fees but limit my account and transactions to 8K or less per month and really only use it for internet and phone credit, occasionally other things but never a fee, staying within the 8 K limit per month there are no fees.
> Yep, money changers give better rates and you are right with good quality bills or they are rejected.
> 
> Only my experience so far.
> ...


Both Gcash and Maya won't approve me for a full account. I don't know why but they reject my scanned passport. I use Maya for paying a few bills but they won't let me do other things, like transferring money to an individual.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

Gary D said:


> Yes bring a bit of cash but only exchange enough to get you going for a day or two, the airport exchange rates are very poor, similarly SM malls. Money changers tend to give the better rates. Make sure your dollars are crisp and clean, no writings on them or tears otherwise you will be taking them home with you, also large denominations, not one's, fives or tens. The wife uses gcash occasionally but doesn't like the fees.


I highly recommend seeking out a Villarica money changer. Consistently the best rates and you can see the rate online. Facebook is the best place to get their rate. They have a website but sometimes they are slow to update there. On Facebook, they have been good about updating twice a day. Usually around 10 am and then again in the afternoon.

Right now they are at 54.92. XE mid-market is 55.01. Anytime you can get with 20 centavos of XE, that is a great rate. Less than 19 centavos, fantastic!





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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

That's weird Fred, I don't recall any problem setting up and operating Gcash once you get used to their system and have used it for near 2 years, including transferring funds to the better half's phone and regular bills for the home, other things.
As said I stay within my 8K per month free limit never a problem.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Tiz (Jan 23, 2016)

I had similar problems with GCash when I first applied, but about 1 year later I tried again and it was easy.

May be worth trying again.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

I never had a problem with Gcash Tiz, maybe because the better half set that up.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

bigpearl said:


> Interesting you say that Gary with Gcash as I don't get any fees but limit my account and transactions to 8K or less per month and really only use it for internet and phone credit, occasionally other things but never a fee, staying within the 8 K limit per month there are no fees.
> Yep, money changers give better rates and you are right with good quality bills or they are rejected.
> 
> Only my experience so far.
> ...


Our power bill for water is regularly 10-11k so perhaps that's why the small fee.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Wow, glad I don't pay that much, average 5 K per month and my supplier only accepts cash, no Gcash, no credit cards or direct debit, welcome to the 70's. More fun in the Philippines as they say.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

bigpearl said:


> Wow, glad I don't pay that much, average 5 K per month and my supplier only accepts cash, no Gcash, no credit cards or direct debit, welcome to the 70's. More fun in the Philippines as they say.
> 
> Cheers, Steve.


Our supplier has been accepting gcash since the beginning of the year, they have also gone computerized which made a huge difference, in and out again in minutes. Out power bill is usually about 6k, it's the water pump that comes in 10-11k. We have just changed the pump out for a submersible so hopefully the bill will come down as it appears a lot more efficient.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Copy Gary, we pay our power bill with cash, that's all they accept, go in the next day or day after we get the bill in the morning and generally first in and out, it's only 4 klicks away and we do other stuff while out.

My bill is an average of PHP 5K per month and that includes water pump, A/C's etc. Maybe you are irrigating a commercial farm I don't know but that seems excessive. Can I ask why your pump is metered separately? 

Wow, perhaps my bad but we have certainly drifted off the OP's topic. My apologies Howard.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bigpearl said:


> Copy Gary, we pay our power bill with cash, that's all they accept, go in the next day or day after we get the bill in the morning and generally first in and out, it's only 4 klicks away and we do other stuff while out.
> 
> My bill is an average of PHP 5K per month and that includes water pump, A/C's etc. Maybe you are irrigating a commercial farm I don't know but that seems excessive. Can I ask why your pump is metered separately?
> 
> ...


You haven't strayed off-topic Steve because paying the bills is very important and can be a real hassle, so until I found Gcash I was standing outside/inside our Electrical company Meralco's doors waiting for 3 hours just to pay a simple bill, so one hour travel each way to the Electrical provider's office, 3 hours waiting in line = 5 hrs of my valuable day wasted. 

This was during the height of Covid and what a nightmare so Gcash really saved me some serious hassles, my ATM card is from the US so I couldn't get money from the card in our small Municipality during the lockdown, they only accepted or the software only worked with a Philippine bank ATM.

With that said Gcash is a little confusing to use at first, you do need to verify yourself in order to become a member and your ID card so make sure you have a Smartphone with an ID scanner app installed Youtube videos are also helpful on how to use Gcash.

Our Electrical company is still a nightmare and they have tents outside the building and chairs inside the building just to pay a simple electrical bill and only two employees inside Lol... Oh it's always more fun.  Another note is that chained Grocery stores also accept Gcash.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Yeah, welcome to the Philippines Mark,,,,,,, I seem to remember talking to you about G cash a long time ago and you weren't interested? Perhaps old timers has got me yet again. A little like hooking up to your phone when the internet dies.

MY point is that we strayed off the OP's topic US dollars, their value/usage here.

Moving on if that's ok. G cash is great if you stay within the limits, My point with all that is and I and others have mentioned this many times over the last 10 years or 20? What is wrong here? Why can't I pay my electricity supplier, my telco, my internet, my insurance, my municipal rates, my car rego? The list is as long as your arm regardless of pesos or US folding notes, online? It's an antiquated system and seems to be perpetuated to create jobs,,,,, very inefficient but hey, OMO.

Mark, I remember 15 or 16 years ago, drive through banks in the US, $500.00 please and a big mac and large chips.
I have been using internet and telephone banking, automatic debits, international transfers for over 20 years and perfect.

US dollars, Aussie dollars or Pesos hold relative values/exchange rates when I go to purchase a product and have 2 or 3 sales persons all throwing in their opinions and confusing the customer even more,,,,,,, employment but inefficient.
Try finding that kind of service and confusion in Wall Mart or Bunnings.

US dollars are king but for how long? It's all relative.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

bigpearl said:


> Copy Gary, we pay our power bill with cash, that's all they accept, go in the next day or day after we get the bill in the morning and generally first in and out, it's only 4 klicks away and we do other stuff while out.
> 
> My bill is an average of PHP 5K per month and that includes water pump, A/C's etc. Maybe you are irrigating a commercial farm I don't know but that seems excessive. Can I ask why your pump is metered separately?
> 
> ...


We supply about 40 houses with water, largely out of the kindness of our hearts. We do charge but it barely covers the cost of the electricity, some months we can be out of pocket. Our pump just failed, I suspect due to low water level. The well is much deeper than the pump input, don't ask me why and I bet the installer doesn't know either. The new pump is a submersible and we made sure it's a couple of pipe lenghts deeper. The new work cost about 120k, we won't see that back but it's our independent water supply.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Gary D said:


> We supply about 40 houses with water, largely out of the kindness of our hearts. We do charge but it barely covers the cost of the electricity, some months we can be out of pocket. Our pump just failed, I suspect due to low water level. The well is much deeper than the pump input, don't ask me why and I bet the installer doesn't know either. The new pump is a submersible and we made sure it's a couple of pipe lenghts deeper. The new work cost about 120k, we won't see that back but it's our independent water supply.


 Submersive pumps PUSH up the water which make it manage to get water from much deeper
while pumps which sucks up water manage max around 7* meters so no point have the pipe deeper than that. Perhaps that explain why.

*The are suck up pumps, which manage deeper but they suck up in more than one step. There are antique handpumped ones such too, very expensive.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

That's very generous Gary, well done mate.

Cheers, Steve.


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

I got fully approved by GCash but PayMaya refuses to certify me. I scanned the same passport for both. I gave up on the Maya app. 
GCash hss been adding a lots of new features that seem useful. GCash seems linked to Globe while Maya is more linked to PLDT.
Filipinos I know gamble online and get the winnings via GCash. It is interesting, I would think it a bit illegal the way they pay out. Using third party agents to move money between people. I think it is call money mule here and is illegal. The USA would consider it money laundering. I stick to bill pay, Lazada wallet and phone load as my main usages. The bill pay charges a few pesos gor the service. Lazada wallet transfer free, phone load free. I move money from ATM account and the is a small fee but the limit is 100,00 per day.


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## askinsf (5 mo ago)

Howard_Z said:


> I wonder if US paper currency is accepted at Philippine businesses ?
> 
> When I visited Israel everyone wanted dollars, I think to save as their currency has more inflation than the US dollar (at that time).


From personal experience....... The banks and most money exchanges look at USD very carefully. I brought $100 bills when I got here and the banks will only accept the new bills. If they have a slight tear (mine had a tear about 1/8th of an inch), writing, or smudge on them the bank will refuse to take them and so will the money changers. I recommend that if you're going to bring USD cash, go to the bank and ask for crisp NEW bills. That's probably a good recommendation for any foreign currency. Just sayin'!


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

Agree with that, only new, Blue, clean 100 dollar bills. Any other denomination is not really usable. I had to get creative to exchange some bills that had writing on them, so no marks of any kind.


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## Ekspat (5 mo ago)

Howard_Z said:


> if I want to rent a house or apartment, how do I pay for it ?
> And if I shop or eat at a restaurant which does not take VISA, how do I pay for it ?


ATM withdrawals from your foreign bank account, same way every expat does before they eventually open a Philippines bank account.


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

Or Gcash, I rented a resort room and bought food with it just this week. I also bought an airline ticket with Gcash.


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