If you have family members in the Philippines, but have moved to the U.S. to work or study, you might need to remit money at some point. Before you choose your way to transfer money to Philippines, decide if this will be a common occurrence or a one-time transaction. Fees will vary depending on which it is, so choose carefully.

One of the safest ways known to transfer money to Philippines is to make a wire transfer through your bank. Many banks in the United States also exist in other countries, which makes the process easy and affordable in most cases. One example is Wells Fargo. As long as you and your relative have an account with this bank, transferring money is simple. Enrolling in the ExpressSend service and then providing your relative's name and Philippine account number are the best first steps to make. Your transfer will usually cost about $5, and you can make regular transactions this way. Your United States dollar will be automatically changed to the Philippine peso, which equals about .02074 U.S. dollars. This means that for every U.S. dollar you send, your recipient will receive 48 Philippine pesos, which you should keep in mind. Expect your relative to receive the money within about three business days.

If you decide to use HSBC to transfer money to Philippines from your account to your relative's HSBC account, it will cost $30. If you transfer to another bank, it will cost $45. No matter which one applies to you, the transfer will take three to five business days. If your bank does not exist in the Philippines, you can also go through a company that sends money from your account to a place where your relative can pick up cash. You can also designate an account for the money to be placed in. This type of service costs less than $4 to transfer money to Philippines, and takes anywhere from one hour to three business days.

If you and your family both have an account at Philippine National Bank, it costs $6 to transfer money by the next business day through their special remittance program. If your recipient does not have an account there, it will cost them $9 to pick it up at a branch in the Philippines using two forms of identification. There is a Philippine National Bank at New York's 5th Avenue in Manhattan, which is convenient for those on the East Coast. There are https://www.refundee.com/ of branches on the Philippine islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, as well as in the country's capital, Manila.

If your family has an account at LandBank,  Metropolitan Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines, United Coconut Planters Bank, or Bank of the Philippine Islands, to name a few, you can send up to $20 for a fee of just over $6. To send $625, there is a $31 fee. The money will be sent in Philippine pesos.

Another way to transfer funds quickly back home is to send your family member a prepaid debit card and add money to it whenever you need to. This creates convenience for your family member, as they either use their prepaid debit card to purchase items or get out cash at an ATM. Expect to pay a few dollars each time you add money to the card, but it is often better than paying upwards of $30 to transfer money to Philippines through other methods. This route also charges a flat fee rather than a percentage of what you transfer, so it is cheaper if you need to transfer a lot of money at once.