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Transferring large amount of money from BDO to UK bank account.

Discussion in 'Money Matters' started by royal, Oct 8, 2020.

  1. royal
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    royal Member

    As per the thread title, does anyone know the best way to do this please.
    I am aware the bank here will first change the Pesos into USD before transferring to the UK account, at a loss for me.
  2. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    BDO should offer an International Wire transfer facility.

    After some searching I found that they should offer this service if you have a BDO dollar account.

    You will need data like the IBAN number of the receiving account in the UK and probably some other details of the receiving account, I don't know but depending on the amount being transferred there might be money laundering checks that you have to pass.

    I guess it depends how much a large amount is?

    I don't know how reliable this link is, the site does not look great, the comments note that there could be issues like needing to have a TIN number (BIR Tax Number).

    https://www.banksphilippines.com/20...sfer,Your recipient has a bank account. More
  3. royal
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    royal Member

    Hi @oss Many thanks for your reply and information link.

    The lady at BDO this morning didn't seem too sure about her facts, and certainly didn't mention opening a dollar account.

    The info required on the site is not a problem, and we have a TIN number. I'll go back to BDO and ask about the dollar account.

    Basically, I'm transferring funds back to the UK, to the bank where they originated.
  4. norn iron
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    norn iron New Member

    I am trying to transfer too,any updates on the situation please.
  5. royal
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    royal Member

    @norn iron

    BDO have told me I need to put physical dollars into a dollar account.
    Minimum balance is $200
    I can transfer the equivalent of P500,000 per transaction.
    They will not sell us $’s
    She advised us to buy dollars on the black market and then put them in our dollar account.
    Hope this helps.
  6. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Surely the money changers would sell you dollars if you were to say you were going on holiday to the US, they clearly change dollars when people bring them into country, i've watched loads of OFW's waving 100 dollar bills around at duty free :) I realise the government may well have rules on the amount that can be exchanged as being a poorer country foreign exchange balances will matter a lot to the country.

    I knew someone a long time ago who walked out of the country with close on 40 thousand dollars on him, that was a monumentally dangerous thing to do but he had his reasons this was well over a decade ago but he must have had a way to withdraw that money in dollars at that time.
  7. royal
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    royal Member

    Yes, they would. But we won’t be here to buy them.
    We’re transferring money as and when needed.
  8. norn iron
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    norn iron New Member

    I am trying to transfer too,any updates on the situation please.
    Thank You for the info,,,much appreiated.
  9. royal
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    royal Member

    Glad to help.
  10. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    Friend of mine was caught at Heathrow with a sum of cash, ended up losing it and serving a year in prison for money laundering :oops:
  11. Mariam1
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    Mariam1 New Member

    Hi Royal, did you manage to find a better way to transfer money from Philippines to the UK? Thanks.
  12. royal
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    royal Member

    @Mariam 1
    Hi. No change really from my previous solution.
    I will buy dollars here from a travel money exchange and deposit them into my BDO Dollar account, then transfer to my UK account, as and when I need it.
  13. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    It depends on how large a sum of money and what currency is it held in now?

    If you need to move tens or hundreds of thousands of US dollars for example, then you should use a commercial forex company who will give you a spot trade and will allow you to wire the money in dollars to them and then wire it to your UK account in pounds. You will get a better rate that way. I have done this before.

    You should avoid using a bank to exchange for you. They do not offer very good rates. On a sum over 100k it works out
    to be several thousand dollars different.

    Moving dribs and drabs 'as and when' is the most expensive way to move money. Your 'solution' is not a good one.

    You should also definitely avoid buying physical cash from a money exchange and depositing it in cash. If large sums are involved the banks will be flagging this as suspicious due to money laundering regulations - all banks look for cash transactions and share information (I know this because I have worked in banking). For large international swift transfers you will also be asked to provide documentation about the source of the money. That will be harder for you if you have used cash in the trail. I would not recommend you do it unless the sums are trivial.
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2021
    • Agree Agree x 1
  14. royal
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    royal Member

    @ChoiAndJohn

    Thank you for your reply. It would be a bi-annual transfer of Pesos to GBP. Estimate is P500,000
    each transaction. I believe using WU can be a bit expensive, so who would you recommend please?
  15. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    You need a retail foreign exchange company that will accept a Philippine peso payment and give you a gbp / php spot rate. That avoids you using your usd account which will just lose you money (paying in php to a usd account you will lose money on the spot php/usd rate they give you and then when you send it to the UK you will lose again on the usd/gbp spot they give you).

    I can't recommend one it's been years - just Google retail foreign exchange spot - I note torfx.com does it. Some companies won't be able to accept Philippine peso though you will have to read the small print. You would be better off doing one transaction per year 500,000 peso is kind of small.

    You want to convert currencies as few times as possible because you take on market risk and lose money on the spread as a retail buyer. Obviously you need to choose a good time to get your spot rate as well because it constantly changes - so if you've got some flexibility on timing and frequency that's a good thing too.

    Hope this is helpful.
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2021
  16. royal
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    royal Member

    Yes, very helpful. Thank you for the information.
  17. Mariam1
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    Mariam1 New Member

    Thank you. I will start researching before I go back to Philippines and make arrangements.
  18. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    I'm sorry for resurrecting an old thread but I just noticed this comment and being about money laundering I was interested in it.

    So this friend of yours @Druk1 wound up serving a year in prison for 'money laundering' solely by attempting to exit with undisclosed cash from Heathrow..am I understanding you right?
  19. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    His is rather a strange story, he is currently serving four and a half years, when he was arrested at Heathrow he was flying to Dubai taking cash, that's the story I was told. Another friend, well documented in the press served a few years in the Philippines fighting extradition to the states for money laundering and racketeering?The charges were eventually dropped.

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