Sending money to the Philippines: what it really costs

Three costs in every transfer

1. The fee. What the provider charges to send, shown before you pay.
2. The exchange-rate margin. The World Bank describes it as the “percentage difference between the foreign currency exchange rate applied to the transaction by the remittance service provider and the interbank exchange rate”. It is not shown as a fee, but you pay it in fewer pesos.
3. Fees at the receiving end. Some ways of collecting the money, for example some cash pick-up or account options, may charge the person receiving it. Ask before you send.

The World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide adds the first two together as the “total cost” of a transfer.

A worked example

This example uses the BSP’s reference rate for the UAE dirham on 20 October 2026, PHP 17.1766 per AED (BSP Reference Exchange Rate Bulletin). The provider’s fee and rate are made up for the example. They are not any company’s real prices.

You send AED 1,000. The provider charges a fee of AED 15 and gives you PHP 16.90 per dirham.

You pay (1,000 + 15 fee)

AED 1,015.00

Pesos that arrive (1,000 x 16.90)

PHP 16,900.00

AED 1,015 at the BSP reference rate (x 17.1766)

PHP 17,434.25

Cost of the fee (15 x 17.1766)

PHP 257.65

Cost of the margin ((17.1766 - 16.90) x 1,000)

PHP 276.60

Total cost

PHP 534.25

The total cost is PHP 534.25 out of PHP 17,434.25, about 3.06% of what you paid. Just over half of it is the margin, which no receipt shows as a fee.

How to compare two quotes

Compare the pesos that arrive for the same total you pay, at the same moment.

Say you have AED 1,000 to spend in total:

• Quote A, fee AED 15 and PHP 16.90 per dirham: AED 985 is converted, so 985 x 16.90 = PHP 16,646.50 arrives.
• Quote B, no fee and PHP 16.80 per dirham: 1,000 x 16.80 = PHP 16,800.00 arrives.

Quote B gets more pesos home even though its rate is lower, because there is no fee. Rates change during the day, so check both quotes together.

What corridors cost on average

Our averages from the World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset, Q3 2025, for sending the equivalent of USD 200 to the Philippines (the simple average of the total cost of the services the World Bank surveyed):

Scroll the table sideways for more

Averages hide a wide spread between providers, and these figures are a year old. Use them as a yardstick when you look at your own quotes.

Ways the money can arrive

• Bank account. The money is credited to your family’s Philippine bank account. The BSP’s remittance FAQ notes that receiving directly into a bank or e-money account “would significantly be more convenient for OFW dependents”.
• E-wallet. Credited to a mobile wallet that your family can spend or cash out from.
• Cash pick-up. Your family collects cash at a remittance outlet or pawnshop with an ID and a reference number.
• Door-to-door. Some services deliver cash to the house. Ask what the receiver pays, if anything.

We do not rank providers or name any as a pick.

Check the provider is licensed

The BSP says formal channels, “regulated financial service providers that include banks and money transfer companies”, give you “due protection and recourse, which may not be the case for informal channels”.

Where you send from:

• UAE: exchange houses are listed in the Central Bank of the UAE’s CB Register (August 2026). Look up the exact name.
• Saudi Arabia: the Saudi Central Bank publishes its licensed entities, including money exchange centres and payment companies.
• Hong Kong: remittance agents need a money service operator licence from the Customs and Excise Department, which has an online register search. Operating without one is an offence.
• Other countries: check your country guide. Our Saudi Arabia guide covers SAMA’s lists. Our Hong Kong guide covers the Customs register.

Where it arrives: the BSP keeps a list of registered money service businesses (as of 30 September 2025; “RTC” in the activity column means remittance) and a list of registered operators of payment systems (as of 28 August 2026).

If something goes wrong with a provider in the Philippines, the BSP says to raise it with the provider’s own complaints desk first, then with the BSP through its online chatbot or consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph.

Send part of it straight to savings

Some of what you send can go to your Philippine contributions and savings directly, without cash changing hands at home:

• SSS. Generate a payment reference number (PRN) in My.SSS and pay online, or at an SSS overseas partner. See how to pay SSS contributions.
• Pag-IBIG and MP2. Pag-IBIG lists online and overseas channels for membership savings and MP2. See paying Pag-IBIG online. Read the MP2 guide before you open an account.

The working abroad hub puts these in order. If you work in the UAE, see our UAE guide.