New to the Philippines

Bill in most banks you can open a U $ dollar account. You will need to take a test to obtain a Filipino driving licence. Driving in the cities is not for the faint hearted.Filipinos are one of the most selfish and dangerous drivers on the road.Road safety discipline and courtesy don't exist.Large selection of Condo rentals and houses available in the cities starting around 20k - 50k pesos  at least in Davao.
I would recommend renting a Condo first then look around get to know the place and decide if you want city life or living by the beach or on an island.Tread carefully when dealing with people there are alot of conmen and women

Ty Dinky. Yes im talking to a realtor now about renting a home in Tagatay. The bank BDO says Americans need a deposit of 10,000.00 USD to open an account ! That kinda sucks.

Mr Billcollins you do not need 10k usd to open an account in Philippines. You have been provided  wrong information by the bank officer (If you are retired you can open the account with 100 dollars usd. I have a number of accounts the issue is that they can only be USD accounts not PHP.

  http://www.thinkpesos.com/how-to-open-s … nt-in-bdo/

more information:http://myphilippinelife.com/philippine-banking/

Hope these sites of information help you good luck

Thank you for that info. It will make life much easier. Would you happen to know. Does Social security deposit in a Philippine bank or do i have to keep US bank account open ?

Bill,

Both BPI and PNB banks list applications for direct deposit of U.S. Social Security benefits in the Philippines.

BPI link.
https://www.mybpimag.com/index.php?opti … Itemid=290

I would simply inquire at the bank of your choice.

Bill,

Another option would be to apply for a SSA Direct Express debit card. The card can be used to withdraw funds as needed from an ATM or it can be used simply as a debit card. The card has a pin like any other ATM card.

Check into fees for ATM withdrawals and out of network ATM withdrawals particularly overseas.

Here's a link:
https://www.ssa.gov/deposit/howtosign.htm

Bill,

This one answered a few questions for me and should answer yours including the required deposit amount to open a bank account.

http://www.banksphilippines.com/2014/04 … pines.html

Do i contact bank or Social Security for this card sir ?

Bill,

On the SSA link go to the right hand side of the page and you will see the "Direct Express" logo. Link to page below.
https://www.ssa.gov/deposit/howtosign.htm

This link will take you to Direct Express page.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/godirect/so … index.html

Best wishes and good luck.

Ty Teejay