There are at least three ways for OFWs and other foreign-based Filipinos to open a Philippine bank account while abroad:
1. Open an account at the foreign branches or subsidiaries of Philippine banks with
branches or subsidiaries abroad such as Philippine National Bank, Metrobank, and Bank of
Philippine Islands.
However, bank accounts opened with these foreign branches function as foreign bank accounts. If you transfer money online from a BPI Europe account to a BPI account in the Philippines, you cannot transfer directly. The transfer will pass through a remittance system, so there is a remittance fee charged.
The advantage of opening an account with a foreign branch or subsidiary of a Philippine bank are the lower cost and the faster processing due to the relationship between the Philippine bank and its foreign branch or subsidiary.
2. Open a BDO Kabayan Savings account or a BDO Remit cash card account in countries where there are BDO Remit offices.
These accounts are Philippine bank accounts. It's as if you opened a bank account in a BDO branch in the Philippines. If you send money to these accounts from abroad, you pay remittance fees.
3. Open a deposit account online with BPI Direct Savings Bank
BPI Direct Savings Bank is the online bank of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI). It is an Internet bank. As of today, as far as I know, it's the only Internet bank in the Philippines. Wala itong branches na pisikal na makikita at pupuntahan ng mga depositors, pero BPI Direct customers can use BPI ATM machines and cash deposit machines to make deposits, withdrawals and other transactions.
For over-the-counter transactions, mamimili ang customer ng kanyang designated BPI branch at account opening.
Customers can also enroll in BPI Internet banking (bpiexpressonline.com) to do online banking.
To open a BPI Direct Savings account while abroad, go to bpidirect.com. You will fill up a form online and you will be given instructions via email on how to complete your account opening.
As of now, opening a BPI Direct account while abroad is open to OFWs and other Filipinos in:
- Bahrain
- HongKong
- Italy
- Spain
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
Every BPI Direct deposit account owner is insured by the PDIC up to a maximum of 500,000 pesos.
What types of BPI Direct Savings accounts are available?
- Express Teller Savings
- BPInoy Savings
- Save-Up Automatic Savings + Insurance
- Maxi-Saver Savings
- Maxi-One Checking
- Time Deposits
For OFWs, the BPInoy Savings account is recommended, as this account was designed for Pinoys abroad.
Advantages:
- No initial deposit required
- No maintaining balance, but you must make at least one remittance every 6 months
- You can enroll it in Internet banking
- You earn interest if you maintain a daily balance of at least 500 pesos
- Annual interest rate of 1% is higher than many other regular deposit accounts
Open a Philippine bank account while abroad
BPI Cash Deposit Machines in Makati
BPI Cash Deposit Machines in Quezon City
BPI Cash Deposit Machines in Muntinlupa and Las Pinas
BPI Cash Deposit Machines in Pasig, Taguig, Mandaluyong, Caloocan
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