The best apps for expats in the Philippines

We have direct deposits in USA accounts and use apps to cover those a checking accounts plus the apps for the credit cards we use.  Not very difficult and it just makes it a little easier to contact the accounts online.

Grab for taxi's also will help you a lot

BPI and Grab.

I have opened up accounts for myself at 3 different banks here in the Philippines.  I only have a few pesos in each bank, but  I have been making electronic overseas transfers to each of these banks and using each of these banks ATMs to figure out which of the three banks  I like the most.   So far, BDO has the most visible ATMs in my vicinity  but I hate the fixed shield over the keypad on their ATMs.   A small detail, but after a few sodas at night, it can be difficult for me  to manipulate the hidden keypad!  The BPI  nearby branch has the best customer service by far.  Meanwhile Metrobank wins in the speed of card replacement and speed of overseas transfers. 
Not much to go on, I admit, but still fun to compare services at the different banks.  I know the choice of banks is numerous and everyone will have their own reasons for using a particular bank here in the Philippines, but these are the only 3 I am working with for now. 
If you need to use the services of a third party for international money transfers, I like using Worldremit.    Worldremit has good accounting and follow up with money transfers and notifies both the sender and the recipient when the transfer is complete.

Hi, I do not use any local apps, and the ones I use here are really from back home, like banking, water bills, rates, body corporates, real estate agents apps, like I said mostly from there, and my transfers are done to Wife's account Metrobank.

Note: we are on Apple.  I find we deal in cash more than we did/do when in Canada or the US, so we use an app called Expenses OK - very simple and I the transfer via Excel to put it into Quicken for my accounting.  I use Grab for getting taxis.  Google Maps is my navigation tool, and or Waze.  I have ExpressVPN - which I've found brilliant for watching US local broadcasting on apps such as Netflix, MSNBC, CNN.  I'm on Smart for phone service and use their app My Smart.  Our accounts are at BDO and I use their app.  I use Transferwise to move money to our US/Canadian account to BDO - Someone above suggested Worldremit - I will now try it - but I shopped around and found Transferwise rates very good.

I wish I had top-notch translation software for Tagalog and Visayan, but haven't found it.

Another interesting app. you may want to look at is  'coins.ph' .
Very simple to open an account  and simply follow the instructions on how to load your account through  7-11 for example.
By using this account, it is extremely simple to instantly load your cell phone (or anyone else's) by using your laptop or cellphone.   Right now, loads come with a 10% discount as well. 
Furthermore, It is possible to use your account for money transfers and even invest in your bitcoins !

Hi Priscilla,

I am sharing my own experience wish that helps you to gather more information.

Facebook, WhatsApp, and WeChat for my social communication, Youtube is for entertainment, Uber & Grab for transportation needs but I found Uber turned not user-friendly lately, so I only use Grab or go to a hotel for a taxi by the meter.

Google translate is my frequently using for language learning or immediate translation.

Hope the above information helps you.

Wish you have a great year ahead of 2018.

Cheers,
Haynes

Mabuhay ladies & gents.

What app can I use to learn visayan or tagalog language ?

Warm regards.

I'm definitely with ktab27 in using TransferWise. I use them to move money from the UK to a BDO account here regularly. Excellent exchange rates, low costs and during the week, the money is usually in the BDO account within one hour, two hours max. The quoted rate is also held for 24 hours.
WhatsApp for messaging.

I reckon the best App for that is the pretty young lady standing next to you in your profile pic !!

I use citi.com to transfer US$ to citibank.com.ph [US$] no fees! From Citibank.com.ph to BPI US$ account [again no fees]. All done online.

great to hear Borntorock confirm Transferwise.  I have had good experience with it.  vr4spyder your set up sounds good, but I'd want to see what exchange rate they are using.  That may be why there are no fees.  But if they are using a competitive exchange rate - you've got a good set up.

AWESOME ADVICE

It's US$ to US$ no fees, instantaneous transfer, as long as both citi.com and Citibank.com.ph belong to you.

addendum: maximum $10,000 per week. I have been doing for several years. And since Citibank Phil is scarce, I opened a BPI US$ account. Again, no fees for online transfers between banks.

OK so presumably your exchange rate exposure crystallises when you draw PHP cash from your BPI USD account or you transfer USD from that account to a BPI PHP account. Sounds like you've found a route around bank charges though.

Actually, I withdraw US$ and exchange them at a higher rate that the bank's.

Speaking of bank accounts--I tried to open an account at BDO in Davao and was told I had to be in the county for six continuous months, which is impossible for me since I have to go back to the US several times a year.

Any thoughts on which bank--in Davao--might be foreigner-friendly enough to let me open an account? I liked BDO since I can transfer money easily from Wells Fargo in the US.

I suspect this may be another one of those "requirements" that vary from place to place. I made enquiries at BDO in Iloilo 2 weeks ago about opening an account and was told that:
a) I had to have an ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) card - which I have
b) I had to make an initial deposit of at least PHP 5,000 which had to be received by BDO direct from a bank account in my country of nationality. In my case UK.

You might well find that you go to another BDO branch and you'll be told something completely different. Good luck !

Try BPI.

I'm here in Davao also.  I was given the same info from BDO - 6 months contiguous to get my name added to my wife's bank account.

I have a Philippine account at three different banks.  BPI, BDO, and Metrobank,  As I remember, I think the bank asked for my ACR I card, my passport and proof of a residence.   I was not asked for a 6 month residency at BDO, but did have to supply a copy of my apartment lease.
It is true that you will receive varying responses from different branches of the same bank in the same city as well. 
Make it a challenge for yourself     

I have Chase bank in u.s.  what apps to help me moving or spending money here ? Thanks

Reply to ktab27 30 January 2018 09:09:47---

ExxpressVPN would not let me access Amazon-Prime movies.

I've switched to Shark VPN, which won't let me access my B of A account and some other websites.

Next up: NordVPN.

Priscilla wrote:

Which apps did you use while preparing your move to the Philippines?

What apps do you use the most for your everyday life in the Philippines: whether it's for transport, managing finances, general information, learning the language of your host country, leisure activities, etc.?

How does this technology help you in your everyday life as an expat?

A couple of months before moving to the Philippines, which was around 13 years ago, the first iPhone had just been launched. We didn't use apps. Those were the days when, at least for me, a "smart" phone sounded doubtful, and an "android phone" sounded too high-tech like "what's that? A phone that could turn into a Transformer?"

Fast forward 13 years. Now I have 2 android smart phones with apps.

For transport and / or deliveries, I use Grab, Lalamove and Foodpanda. The only online shopping app I've used  is Lazada. I have not yet tried Shopee.

For transactions: mobile banking apps, GCash (probably the most popular app for transactions, including paying for utilities; more popular than PayPal or Paymaya) and coins.ph (which can send money via remittance centers like Palawan Express and Mlhuillier).

We use GCash as much as we can for online transactions which we load with just enough to pay for items we ordered.. My husband plays a Zynga social game and buys in-app purchases. His account got hacked and over PhP67k was charged on his credit card for over a period of 6 months How that happened is a long story. But as to how it got that big was because my husband had taken for granted my paying the credit card, and didn't bother to check the details on his statements. I thought that he did. We contested the transactions with the credit card company, got the card blocked, and got the amount back.

For driving directions: Google maps and Waze.

For chats and webinars: Messenger, Viber, Zoom and Google meet.

For "leisure activities" in this age of covid-19: Netflix, Neko Atsume (cute cat collecting game) and Headspace (the subscription of which I purchased using GCash). I use Kinemaster for the kids' video projects, and currently contemplating on setting up a youtube (I use this app too) channel.

Not all apps are on one phone. The phone with transactions app, I keep at home.

Technology that's currently accessible, especially online conferencing and video chat, and faster fiber internet connection could not have come at a better time here in the Philippines. My kids can continue their schooling through online classes. Some can continue working from home.

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