Depositing monthly social security payments linto WISE

danfinn said. . . .  I recall reading WISE advertisements a few years ago suggesting that Americans deposit their SSA payments directly into WISE. But when I checked recently, I can see that WISE has stopped recommending this. Perhaps there wasn't enough response from new depositors.
From what I can see, WISE does provide what appears to be a regular US style checking account complete with account number, routing number and even a SWIFT number. But we cannot call WISE a bank, it is a remittance company. Anyway, it seems I should be able to change my current bank to WISE for monthly ACH deposits. However, before I try that I would like to check with other American expats on the forum to see if they have successfully done this.

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Yes I remember receiving that email also, but thinking it was interesting, I did not delete it.

So your post got me thinking about it. In the states I have savings & checking accounts with Citibank. From time to time if I exceed my monthly expenses, then I loan myself money from my savings account to my checking account and repay myself when my ss arrives. (No transfer fee between accounts.)

If a payee is not on my Citibank bill payer, I can create one. So I have my grandson added for his birthday, then Citibank mails him a check. (FREE).

I like the Free bill pay from Citibank, also I have things on auto pay, life insurance, Netflix, Etcetera. No fees for this.

I like to keep my money in the USA, I have suspicions about Wise, when I do a transfer using Wise the money arrives in seconds.

How is that possible?

I'm thinking in the competitive world, Wise is advancing me the money maybe before they even receive it.

For me, If it ain't broken don't fix it, so why reinvent the wheel?
   

   

The problem with USA banks is their 2FA that requires a certain type of USA phone number to receive texts for their online banking and now my current situation, where they just now require a USA ip address, making me use a VPN. How long my current USA phone number will work with what I have, or if it ever figures out I am using a VPN proxy server, is anybody's guess. I can still work through these security updates for now but the situation only seems to get worse with time. Most banks don't like serving citizens overseas and that also includes Schwab brokerage accounts for people who might suggest that. You have to register a US address with them. I think Citi has a large presence in the Philippines but there is a wall between citi us and citi Phils. For example, I applied and received a citi USA credit card but was declined a citi Phils credit card, probably due to age or no Philippines income source. So I dropped the citi us credit card. Anyway, I am looking for alternative institutions for USA checking and savings for when my current bank finally makes online banking in the Philippines impossible. At least WISE is subject to US banking rules for USD accounts although all they have is checking. Wise also requires a registered USA address too but they seem to have updated 2FA options as an alternative to text that I can handle here, including Microsoft authenticator instead of texting a code. They give a US brick and mortar address for their checking product. If this has not been adopted by other expats to give it some credibility, I will probably not consider them. For anyone who may suggest it, having SSA deposit to a Philippines bank is not a starter for me. Telephone banking with my current bank will always work for me (I think) using magicjack but that 1980's method is way too slow.

danfinn said . . . . The problem with USA banks is their 2FA that requires a certain type of USA phone number to receive texts for their online banking and now my current situation, where they just now require a USA ip address, making me use a VPN. How long my current USA phone number will work with what I have, or if it ever figures out I am using a VPN proxy server, is anybody's guess. I can still work through these security updates for now but the situation only seems to get worse with time. Most banks don't like serving citizens overseas and that also includes Schwab brokerage accounts for people who might suggest that. You have to fake a US address with them. I think Citi has a large presence in the Philippines but there is a wall between citi us and citi Phils. For example, I applied and received a citi USA credit card but was declined a citi Phils credit card, probably due to age or no Philippines income source. So I dropped the citi us credit card. Anyway, I am looking for alternative institutions for USA checking and savings for when my current bank finally makes online banking in the Philippines impossible. At least WISE is subject to US banking rules for USD accounts although all they have is checking. Wise also requires a fake USA address but they seem to have updated 2FA options as an alternative to text that I can handle here, including Microsoft authenticator instead of texting a code. They give a US brick and mortar address for their checking product. If this has not been adopted by other expats to give it some credibility, I will probably not consider them. For anyone who may suggest it, having SSA deposit to a Philippines bank is not a starter for me. Telephone banking with my current bank will always work for me (I think) using magicjack but that 1980's method is way too slow.
   

   

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Citibank Philippines has pulled out of the Philippines and many other markets.  You're using Magic Jack & a v.o.i.p.. I ran a speed check (computer) using my VPN and speed check detected I was using a VPN.

Every time I have a workaround for banks, they come up with changes to thwart it. So it appears they can recognize  a v.o.i.p. and VPN.

I'm using Ooma Telo, I only use my v.o.i.p when my Philippine i.p. is blocked. My v.o.i.p is too slow for watching movies.

Lately I've had trouble receiving sms from Wise, so now I'm getting a phone call from them instead (Philippine cell number). Citibank USA (checking & savings) has my Philippine number for verification when needed.

Citibank & Wise are the only two step verification I'm concerned with, otherwise I would be lost. I also receive two step verification by email from some others.

My US mailing address is with US Global Mail. I have all the credit cards I need, two of them are low interest obtained many years ago. Originally 7.75% & 8.25%, of course it has gone up with the prime rate, I think I'm paying 6% plus prime.

    danfinn said . . . . The problem with USA banks is their 2FA that requires a certain type of USA phone number to receive texts for their online banking and now my current situation, where they just now require a USA ip address, making me use a VPN. How long my current USA phone number will work with what I have, or if it ever figures out I am using a VPN proxy server, is anybody's guess. I can still work through these security updates for now but the situation only seems to get worse with time. Most banks don't like serving citizens overseas and that also includes Schwab brokerage accounts for people who might suggest that. You have to fake a US address with them. I think Citi has a large presence in the Philippines but there is a wall between citi us and citi Phils. For example, I applied and received a citi USA credit card but was declined a citi Phils credit card, probably due to age or no Philippines income source. So I dropped the citi us credit card. Anyway, I am looking for alternative institutions for USA checking and savings for when my current bank finally makes online banking in the Philippines impossible. At least WISE is subject to US banking rules for USD accounts although all they have is checking. Wise also requires a fake USA address but they seem to have updated 2FA options as an alternative to text that I can handle here, including Microsoft authenticator instead of texting a code. They give a US brick and mortar address for their checking product. If this has not been adopted by other expats to give it some credibility, I will probably not consider them. For anyone who may suggest it, having SSA deposit to a Philippines bank is not a starter for me. Telephone banking with my current bank will always work for me (I think) using magicjack but that 1980's method is way too slow.        *************************Citibank Philippines has pulled out of the Philippines and many other markets.  You're using Magic Jack & a v.o.i.p.. I ran a speed check (computer) using my VPN and speed check detected I was using a VPN.Every time I have a workaround for banks, they come up with changes to thwart it. So it appears they can recognize  a v.o.i.p. and VPN.I'm using Ooma Telo, I only use my v.o.i.p when my Philippine i.p. is blocked. My v.o.i.p is too slow for watching movies.Lately I've had trouble receiving sms from Wise, so now I'm getting a phone call from them instead (Philippine cell number). Citibank USA (checking & savings) has my Philippine number for verification when needed.Citibank & Wise are the only two step verification I'm concerned with, otherwise I would be lost. I also receive two step verification by email from some others. My US mailing address is with US Global Mail. I have all the credit cards I need, two of them are low interest obtained many years ago. Originally 7.75% & 8.25%, of course it has gone up with the prime rate, I think I'm paying 6% plus prime.        -@Enzyte Bob

I found there is no one answer that applies to everyone when it applies to 2FA texting. If i give my bank my magicjack number, the voip does not work for text but I have been able to get the code by voice in the past. I am not sure if that is true today but definitely text does not work with my bank for magicjack. However, telephone banking does work with MJ. I did set up Google voice years ago and based it on my magicjack number which itself was a ported landline phone actually from ooma, but I left the ooma equipment in the USA. Prior to that it was an ATT voip roadrunner phone and Vonage voip. I found that my google voice number DOES work for 2FA text for both my bank and a separate credit card. Of course, Google voice would also be voip but it still works for 2FA text, for every USA financial app I have for some reason; I have no idea why.

As for WISE, Bob take a look at the new 2FA security options it has. There nowc3: There is text  to a US phone (as we have been discussing) but there is also direct authorization to the WISE app on your phone (approved device) and also to an authenticator, Microsoft or Google or other. I am used to those authenticators from login.gov (SSA) and ID.me (IRS). I have no problem using them.  Wise calls the text to usa phone least secure and suggest you add the other 2 options to your WISE which is what I did...excellent, no more text to a usa phone number. It would be great if the other banks and cc card companies added those to  their 2FA methods in the future as well.  But these banks may (or may not) prefer the text to USA phone method to determine if you are in the USA. But with WISE allowing Microsoft authenticator or auth by app on approved device for 2FA, that seems the best way for now to get around the text over VOIP problem. If my bank ultimately makes it impossible for me to do online banking from here, WISE does seem to be an alternative (perhaps with some risk). That is why I created the thread,  When I go back home in coming months I will talk with my bank and cc card issuer. Whatever I decide to do, I will meet with them first in the US.

My wise uses a Philippines address and i have USD. the only issue is i am limited to ₱400k in transfers a month into any if my currencies. so far that has not been an issue. So it shouldn’t be an issue to use WISE.

I started looking into this myself, and it's definitely a pain having to have a US address for financial institutions in order to continue doing business.  I have an IRA and brokerage account with Fidelity as well as their Cash Management account.  I'm in the Philippines as I write this and the other day I was able to withdraw 10000 PHP from a BDO ATM machine with no problem.  Like Charles Schwabb, Fidelity will reimburse most of the fees at the end of the month.  Fidelity will not allow new accounts as a foreigner, but will allow you to continue using your account you established it while residing in the USA.  I think the only stipulation is you cannot trade funds anymore (only sell).  I also have accounts in a a regular bank and credit union in the US, but as others have already mentioned it's only a matter of time before they find out you're living abroad and likely make you close them, etc.  I also signed up with Proton Mail, which comes with Proton VPN.  I've been testing it out as well while I'm here and its been working great.  Without the VPN, accessing Fidelity requires agreeing to their international TOS, which I haven't had to do.  I also have Remitly and Western Union, although, I've only used ever used WU to send money here (once to a local WU office in Mati City, and a few other times to my Filipina's Gcash account).  It works well and the conversion and transfer rates are pretty good - they even award you points that you can redeem to pay for fees on a later transaction.  But there is a monthly limit on Gcash, so not ideal for large sums of money.

mati_steve said . . . .I also have accounts in a a regular bank and credit union in the US, but as others have already mentioned it's only a matter of time before they find out you're living abroad and likely make you close them, etc. I also signed up with Proton Mail, which comes with Proton VPN.

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Two of my banks (charge card) and the other (checking account) have my Philippine address and will sms me for logins using my Philippines phone number. Matter of fact one time I talked to customer service (Citibank US customer service was actually in Pasay). Not knowing that I called in the middle of the night adjusted for US time.

Prior to moving six years ago I notified all of them I would be using my cards from the Philippines. But I still use my mail forwarding address as my home address. Instead of using my box #12345678, I listed my address as apartment #12345678.

I've been here 6 years. I have a Credit Union account. I have no problems with that institution. Recently I discovered REMITLY. I can now transfer funds from my Credit Union directly to GCash here.

The catch is that they nab you on a lower exchange rate, but here's what I figured out:

Cost of transportation and time round trip: 250 peso PER DAY FOR 2 DAYS 3 hours each day....yes, I am far from the city.

Cost of ATM fee: 250×3-4 peso per month

Time of going to the city and back with the constant risk of the ATM being broken...

Now, I don't have to stress and have my cash in less tyan a minute. I'd love to hear some feedback on this, if anyone knows a better way?

Took me 6 years to figure this out!

@danfinn

That can be fixed with a VPN, and a Google number. Note: set up your Google number before leaving the US. I use Google Voice, but only because of the VPN. Before I could not download the app and used Chrome browser, but now with the app installed I can receive calls as if I'm still there. By the way, I haven't paid a cell phone bill in over 8 years.

@danfinn That can be fixed with a VPN, and a Google number. Note: set up your Google number before leaving the US. I use Google Voice, but only because of the VPN. Before I could not download the app and used Chrome browser, but now with the app installed I can receive calls as if I'm still there. By the way, I haven't paid a cell phone bill in over 8 years. - @Sam Doe

As I said, after living through this for 8+ years and a number of institutions. "I found there is no one answer that applies to everyone when it applies to 2FA texting.". No, a VPN and Google voice does not always fix the problem. In my case, VPN used to be required for a certain window of time on my bank's android app. However, there was a before period where I didn't need it, then I needed it for about 2 months and now I no longer need it. And I never needed the VPN when logging in with my PC even if the android app required it.

You will hear many people say that you cannot use VOIP for 2FA texts and in many cases, that is true. Magicjack, a voip service, rarely works for text sms 2FA. But you mentioned Google Voice and that is also VOIP, yet, as you say, it does work at least in "your" experience. I find the Google Voice works for me as well. I investigated to find the reason for this disparity and what I found was, Google Voice is known by security experts to be extremely secure, encrypted and probably even more secure than a real cell phone number because GV has no sim card and is immune to SIM swap scams. So, 1) if your bank uses 2FA only for security purposes and not KYC to try to prove you are in the USA, and 2) their security team recognizes the excellent security of GV, then GV will work for you. And it does work very often, but not always. Some institutions are still trying to verify KYC, that you are signing in from the USA, so, they will only accept a USA cell number like t-mobile or google fi. However, we also know that is a poor assumption since you can subscribe to unli usa cell texting while overseas.  I currently use my USA Google Fi number for USA bank and CC 2FA texts where, in both cases, GV also works for me. However, I consider GV to not be the most reliable. It works right now but what about next month when my institution changes policies? I believe the real cell number will always work for USA 2FA and I'll tell you, if you pay attention to the forums, there are many cases where Google voice either doesn't work or it stopped working. So I agree that your suggestion would work for me (it already does) and I do not even need to use my VPN. But there is no reliable solution for sms texted 2FA that will always work or work for everybody except using a live USA cell phone number when living overseas.

Here's a list of banks and other companies that are able to use Google Voice (GV) voip numbers  for 2FA SMS inbound texts

From my experience,  I've been able to use GV voip  numbers  for American Express, Capital One, Chase, Fidelity, Paypal, Schwab, T. Rowe Price TransUnion to name a few.   

Banks or FIs such as Wells Fargo, Fidelity's Debit Card (via Elan Financial or fidelityrewards.com) do not work with GV voip numbers unfortunately.

[link moderated]

Here's a list of banks and other companies that are able to use Google Voice (GV) voip numbers for 2FA SMS inbound textsFrom my experience, I've been able to use GV voip numbers for American Express, Capital One, Chase, Fidelity, Paypal, Schwab, T. Rowe Price TransUnion to name a few. Banks or FIs such as Wells Fargo, Fidelity's Debit Card (via Elan Financial or fidelityrewards.com) do not work with GV voip numbers unfortunately.[link moderated] - @falcon3631

Good information. I will also agree that Google Voice has worked for Capital One as well. Importantly For, for some American expats who need login.gov to sign into social security (especially in these doge days) I was not able to add a Google voice number for their SMS text authentication method to my wife's login.gov. In that case, you choose "alternate methods" and you can set up Google authenticator or perhaps use the biometric or digital passkey on your phone (or, of course. the 10 backup codes).

When I entered the Google Voice number for 2FA SMS, login.gov immediately came back and rejected it saying it was a voip number and that was unacceptable. So, for expat use, I set up Google Authenticatoos on my and my wife's phones. Plus I have a real phone number from Google Fi that is not voip and it works fine for all 2FA. Google Fi works indefinitely overseas but only for calling and text, not internet.

I have found Google Authenticator to be very convenient as an expat. This *totally* solves the problem of needing a phone number thar works overseas for SMS code texting. It is highly secure, more secure than standard SMS text to SIM, which is vulnerable to SIM swap. Authenticators (any of them) are actually easier to use than texting, once it is setup, and setting up is easy. I wish my bank and Capital One allowed us to use the Authenticator method but they do not, not yet anyway. You don't even need to be connected to the internet to use authenticators as they use only pre-exchanged secret keys unique to your phone only, with time-varying codes that are synced with your institution.

@Sam Doee

Recently I discovered REMITLY. I can now transfer funds from my Credit Union directly to GCash here.

Very true BUT (and there is always a but), agree, the transfer is almost instant but only when transferring from your debit card account or credit card..don't use that though). If you try to transfer from your bank account to GCASH, it will take days not minutes. No problem choosing debit card unless your debit card is expired, which does happen.

@danfinn

It's a shame that the majority of US banks cannot use standard TOTP or authenticator apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, Ente Authenticator (all three are cross platform with android and iOS, with device sync), or the majority of password apps with authenticators built in.   Fidelity recently added standard TOTP 2fa or mfa / 2sv (nice if you use them as a "bank" with the cash management account and brokerage.   Schwab (bank and brokerage) and ETrade use the Symantec VIP app, which with a hack , can be turned or reverse engineered into a standard TOTP secret or seed into any authenticator app.

Otherwise, I'm not sure of many other US bank options that have standard totp where you can send payments like social security ach into, sadly.

The Philippines social security surprisingly can use standard TOTP for 2fa / mfa / 2sv.   But the majority of their banks use their proprietary mobile apps, or sms 2fa, and are constrained to one device only as well.

@danfinn

It's a shame that the majority of US banks cannot use standard TOTP or authenticator apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, Ente Authenticator (all three are cross platform with android and iOS, with device sync), or the majority of password apps with authenticators built in.   Fidelity recently added standard TOTP 2fa or mfa / 2sv (nice if you use them as a "bank" with the cash management account and brokerage.   Schwab (bank and brokerage) and ETrade use the Symantec VIP app, which with a hack , can be turned or reverse engineered into a standard TOTP secret or seed into any authenticator app.

Otherwise, I'm not sure of many other US bank options that have standard totp where you can send payments like social security ach into, sadly.

The Philippines social security surprisingly can use standard TOTP for 2fa / mfa / 2sv.   But the majority of their banks use their proprietary mobile apps, or sms 2fa, and are constrained to one device only as well.

@danfinn
It's a shame that the majority of US banks cannot use standard TOTP or authenticator apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, Ente Authenticator (all three are cross platform with android and iOS, with device sync), or the majority of password apps with authenticators built in. Fidelity recently added standard TOTP 2fa or mfa / 2sv (nice if you use them as a "bank" with the cash management account and brokerage. Schwab (bank and brokerage) and ETrade use the Symantec VIP app, which with a hack , can be turned or reverse engineered into a standard TOTP secret or seed into any authenticator app.
Otherwise, I'm not sure of many other US bank options that have standard totp where you can send payments like social security ach into, sadly.

The Philippines social security surprisingly can use standard TOTP for 2fa / mfa / 2sv. But the majority of their banks use their proprietary mobile apps, or sms 2fa, and are constrained to one device only as well. - @falcon3631

I suspect here are two possible reasons that USA banks will not improve their 2SV which relies on SIM card texted codes and is the weakest security possible,vulnerable to SIM swap:

1. Banks know that texted SMS is insecure and any scammer who can convince a provider over the phone ro transfer the phone number on your sim to a sim card they control can wire your money to any account and wipe you out. It happens and they know it, however, much more important to banks than customer security is the bank's KYC risk. High KYC/AML risk is very expensive to them, maybe prohibitive. They use the SIM sms text method because it increases the likelihood to them that you are in the USA, not in some foreign country laundering money, ie, they assume most USA sim cards only work in the USA. (But they sometimes allow Google voice (quite secure by itself, really) and they know in some cases USA sim cards can work overseas). But statistically, they figure if you can receive a text to your USA number, you are not in a foreign country so the policy helps lower their KYC risk. To hell with customer security and the possibility of sim swaps, they save more money by keeping KYC risk low. OR,

2. They figure that a large portion of customers, especially older ones,  do not have the wherewithal to install and use TOTP such as Google Authenticator. I'm not so sure about that because they could leave both options and they don't. TOTP can be used anywhere in the world of course but I syspect bank's like texting your sim service for their own KYC/AML purposes.

If they were confident that their customers were not likely criminals, then TOTP should serve KYC well because it is a better method than SIM texted code of confirming "something you have" (phone) but combining that with a 3rd factor that you "are" like face or fingerprint would be even better. But I think they do not care so much to confirm it is "you" as they want to confirm where you probably "are" (in country).

As long as banking institutions stay with this weak sms texting code  to sim method, all of those better methods including yubikey will not advance much, I'm afraid  But there are some special cases where TOTP, yubikey and phone based notifications/passkeys are working well and that is with id.me for irs and ssa and login.gov for ssa. However, both of those also allow the weaker sim card sms text method as well. I wish the sms method would go away as it is the weakest link and puts our accounts at risk to SIM swap, such an easy thing to do.

I've been here 6 years. I have a Credit Union account. I have no problems with that institution. Recently I discovered REMITLY. I can now transfer funds from my Credit Union directly to GCash here. The catch is that they nab you on a lower exchange rate, but here's what I figured out:Cost of transportation and time round trip: 250 peso PER DAY FOR 2 DAYS 3 hours each day....yes, I am far from the city.Cost of ATM fee: 250×3-4 peso per monthTime of going to the city and back with the constant risk of the ATM being broken...Now, I don't have to stress and have my cash in less tyan a minute. I'd love to hear some feedback on this, if anyone knows a better way?Took me 6 years to figure this out! - @Sam Doe

So please confirm: The place where you live has no ATM and it takes you 3 hours to get to the city where there is an ATM. So, you found that you can use Remitly to transfer directly to your GCASH.

Question: Does the place where you live have a means where you can cash-out your GCASH to get cash (since you have no ATMs)? I have GCASH but I the only way I use it is with a debit card at an ATM to get cash and one time I used it to pay a Restautant bill with a QR code.

Maybe I am not reading this right. Sorry if that is the case because I am curious. Will a sari sari store give you cash with GCASH? How do you convert your GCASH balance (transferred from Remitly) to peso-cash when you are so far from the city? I also have transferred to GCASH from my US bank with Remitly but I want pesos from GCASH, I just go to an ATM and withdraw it using my GCASH debit card,

I never used GCASH the old-fashioned way as locals do by exchanging money based on their GCASH phone numbers.

I am thinking the Palawan and Lhuillier pawnshops probably give you cash from your GCASH account. Those pawnshops are everywhere and used by the locals for cash Padala (transfer). Is that how you do it?

By the way, Remitly also transfer from your USA bank account direct to Palawan, Lhuillier, LBC etc, etc,. in case you didn't know.

Thanks for any info.

Best to get a local bank for direct Deposit.

I have read others have successfully direct deposit into wise account but I haven't personally.

Best to get a local bank for direct Deposit.
I have read others have successfully direct deposit into wise account but I haven't personally. - @Twlk123

Direct deposit of SSA and pensions into a local Phils account is a separate issue with its pro's and cons, especially for Americans. That topic deserves its own thread. As banking regulation KYC security continues to turn the screws on expats overseas, it may be our only unfortunate choice in the future.

As for direct-depositing into WISE, since I started this thread last year I have heard of many expats whose WISE accounts were frozen or even closed for some reason; it seems WISE has a quick trigger finger on account closure for KYC or whatever other reasons they may have. WISE demands a USA address and will not send your debit card to a foreign address. Since july if last year I have seen enough videos that I consider WISE to be flakey, not a reliable place for direct deposit of SSA ans pensions.  So I am no longer considering WISE as a long term solution for anything expat-related although maybe useful once in a while as a emporary money transfer solution for people not registered with Remitly or World Remit. It works fine for that. So does Western Union, not much difference.

My Wise account was closed because I do not have a US physical address. They will not accept My Traveling Mail Box address as a legitimate US address

Luckily I bank with Navy Federal Credit Union, they have many other members that live in various locations around the world. So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account

@gregparker6201

So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account.

Bank to bank wire transfer might cost $US 40-50. Is that how you transfer to your wife's local bank account? Other people in Dumaguete say they do that.

On another topic. if your wife is not a US citizen and your name is not on her account, then no need for you to notify FBAR on your taxes  when your balance exceeds $10K. That is only required of bank accounts owned by Americans (I believe).

@gregparker6201
So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account.
Bank to bank wire transfer might cost $US 40-50. Is that how you transfer to your wife's local bank account? Other people in Dumaguete say they do that.

On another topic. if your wife is not a US citizen and your name is not on her account, then no need for you to notify FBAR on your taxes when your balance exceeds $10K. That is only required of bank accounts owned by Americans (I believe). - @danfinn

         If he files a joint return with his wife, then they must do all the FUBAR reporting  and are subject to all the restrictions.

@gregparker6201
So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account.
Bank to bank wire transfer might cost $US 40-50. Is that how you transfer to your wife's local bank account? Other people in Dumaguete say they do that.

On another topic. if your wife is not a US citizen and your name is not on her account, then no need for you to notify FBAR on your taxes when your balance exceeds $10K. That is only required of bank accounts owned by Americans (I believe). - @danfinn
    If he files a joint return with his wife, then they must do all the FUBAR reporting and are subject to all the restrictions.
- @mugtech

I knew there had to be a catch.

@danfinn

Wife is a dual citizen

We keep the local account balance below $2K to avoid the reporting requirements

Navy Federal charges $25 per transfer. Money available locally at China Bank Savings in 2 days

price per transfer not as cheap as Wise or Remitly  but get a better exchange rate, so it works out for us

we also have a joint Philippine National Bank account based at the New York City branch. Only $10 per transfer but not as quick

for people thinking about moving here this is a good option as it can be set up via Zoom while still in the US

and since the PNB has a New York City address it’s not considered foreign, but I also keep the balance below $10 K

@danfinn Wife is a dual citizen We keep the local account balance below $2K to avoid the reporting requirements Navy Federal charges $25 per transfer. Money available locally at China Bank Savings in 2 days price per transfer not as cheap as Wise or Remitly but get a better exchange rate, so it works out for us we also have a joint Philippine National Bank account based at the New York City branch. Only $10 per transfer but not as quick for people thinking about moving here this is a good option as it can be set up via Zoom while still in the USand since the PNB has a New York City address it’s not considered foreign, but I also keep the balance below $10 K - @gregparker6201

It seems that in your case you are willing to wait 2 days for the credit union SWIFT transfer to go through. You don't mention having a debit card so your remitly transfer could take 2-4 days by using only bank account number ACH. With a debit card a Remitly transfer would be instant (and costlier). I had been told that, using WISE, smaller amounts transferred from my USA CU, direct from the account number and not the debit, could also be transferred *instantly* rather than waiting 2-5 days.

So, I experimented. I just tried sending $10.00 from my USA CU to my Philippine wallet (MAYA) using only my CU account number, not the debit card option, and sure enough, it transferred *instantly*. It worked.

During this the first transfer I had to go through a lot of verification through Plaid and 2FA with the CU, but it linked up and will be easier the next time. I hadn't used the account for so long that my CU account got unlinked from WISE. But I will remember this WISE option for future instant transfers to MAYA with no USA debit card needed.

With my MAYA debit card, I can withdraw from any ATM just like I can with my USA debit card minus the 250 peso service charge. MAYA is basically the same as its competitor, GCASH.

The only thing is, I will never put a lot of money into WISE or my Philippine MAYA account (or GCASH). I have heard stories of WISE cancelling expats' accounts for various reasons or even unknown reasons (so best to keep any balance on the low side) but still, very useful. In a pinch, I would not need the USA ATM card to get instant money. A USA debit card will expires occasionally and it is usually difficult and time consuming for the new card to get sent here.

Maya and GCASH just sent my new physical debit cards to my home by LBC, and I had them in a week.

Anyway, in my case having a a faster "instant" money transfer is important because I dislike that period in between the transfer, worrying that something went wrong with the transfer (like theft), where neither bank in mid-transfer accepts responsibility and, with no appeal mechanism if that happens. But I know, sometimes we have to do it and take the small risk, however but I don't like it.

My Wise account was closed because I do not have a US physical address. They will not accept My Traveling Mail Box address as a legitimate US address
Luckily I bank with Navy Federal Credit Union, they have many other members that live in various locations around the world. So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account - @gregparker6201

It surprises me that your account was closed because of no US address. Wise does accept a PH address according to their website.

@Twlk123

Maybe the combo of US Bank and Philippine physical address is unacceptable, no problem I found a way around it that works for me

@danfinn

Thanks for the MAYA info

I agree the 2 day wait via SWIFT is not ideal, since we

have a G cash account might try same with $10 or so

if it works I might do a weekly transfer

@gregparker6201

For me, MAYA and GCASH were both instant with wise transferring $10.00 from the USA bank account number linked with WISE. My USA debit card was not required, just account number. I suspect (not sure) that for the WISE instant transfer to happen without a debit card, you need to not exceed a certain amount, maybe $600.00. I am not sure about that amount but I may have been on some vlogger video. Anyway, I don't think I would ever transfer more than $600.00 to a GCASH or MAYA account. However, sometimes you may need to make a quick transfer to a Phils bank account and I am not sure how fast that can be if not y debit card. I focus on debit cards because they become useless after expiration.

This is a different topic.

In my case, my USA address is the same as my daughter's; that is where we live in the States. So, the CU will only send my debit card to the USA address. My daughter can open the mail and take a pic of both sides of the card. Even with no physical card, you can update your money apps like Remitly, based on the pics of the debit card, and continue instant transfers with no physical card.

What I am waiting for in the Philippines is ATMs that accept NTC from your smartphone. In other words you put your USA debit card into GOOGLE WALLET/(google pay). The you go to the modernized ATM that accepts NTC communication and tap your phone on the wifi symbol. There the ATM reads your card. For the Phils that would be so awesome because FINALLY you would not have to worry about receiving new physical debit or credit cards. This is ubiquitous in the USA but rarely if ever done in the Phils.

gregparker said . . . .My Wise account was closed because I do not have a US physical address. They will not accept My Traveling Mail Box address as a legitimate US address Luckily I bank with Navy Federal Credit Union, they have many other members that live in various locations around the world. So just bank transfer into my wife’s local bank account

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A short while ago Wise sent an email saying do to regulatory compliance I have to show proof of address, they gave several suggestions on what you can use.

I uploaded my US bank statement which shows my Wise address, they accepted this.

Some US expats seem to be experiencing issues.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american … 00094.html

It seems as if Trump/Musk  money saving might come out of expat pensioners pockets.

The piece is a little out of date. Do we have any posters/readers here who have experienced difficulties?

@Enzyte Bob

Welcome back to the Forum Bob. What was the food like in the Sanitarium?

WISE is treated as a UK bank under the review of European banking regulators.

"European regulators have criticised Wise, the London-listed payments firm, for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls. According to EU news source The Payper,

"A 2022 review conducted by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), Wise’s supervisory authority in Europe, identified gaps in the company’s compliance practices, including missing proof-of-address documentation for hundreds of thousands of customers, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.

Following the findings, Wise submitted a remediation plan that was approved by the NBB. The plan required the company to contact affected customers within weeks to obtain the missing documents. Customers who failed to comply faced account freezes, according to the same source."

So we are caught up in WISE having to get proof of address from is customers (us) due to some post-Brexit AML investigations. Here we see that this is unique to UK banks, especially WISE which has a global customer base (us). The part that bothers me is the last sentence above, i.e. 'customers failing to comply faced account freezes'. Wow. The political backlash of BREXIT seems to have threatened the WISE global bank model and there is no indication that this latest "remediation" phase is over.

I have WISE but unlike with Bob, they never contacted me (not yet). If they froze my account i wouldn't care because I keep very little dollars and pesos in it. The problem is that WISE's customers are caught in the middle between WISE and its EU regulators and as a global customer, I would just prefer to stay out of the political crossfire.

The one thing about Wise that seems fantastic is that, at least for small amounts of $600 or so, they can *instantly* transfer from my US bank to GCASH and MAYA direct from my checking account and not have to use the debit card option. This is important because US debit cards expire obviously, and when they do, you can still make instant transfers with WISEdirect from checking and not have to wait the usual 2-5 days for the account transfer to go through.

This cannot be done with Remitly, WordRemit or the rest. In theory, with WISE you could simply use a GCASH debit card and get instant transfers to the Philippines and not having to worry ever again about your US debit card expiring in the future.

But right now WISEs business model seems to be on shakey ground with EU regulators.

.

Lotus Eater said . . .  . Welcome back to the Forum Bob. What was the food like in the Sanitarium?

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Thank you for the welcome.

Unfortunately I was banned. The reason why, 160+ complaints about me. Maybe a certain few spent their time complaining about my posts.

This probably will get  me banned again for speaking out.

I also missed your quips Bob and welcome back. Some can be thin skinned and often wonder if they hassle the cashier the same way because they don't like the prices in the supermarket.

Regardless good to have some differing thoughts,,,,,,,,,, makes me wonder how many complaints against me,,,,,,, it happens.

Cheers, Steve.

Some US expats seem to be experiencing issues.https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american … 00094.htmlIt seems as if Trump/Musk money saving might come out of expat pensioners pockets.The piece is a little out of date. Do we have any posters/readers here who have experienced difficulties? - @Fred

As you said, Fred,

The piece is out of date. It is also nothing new. Expats overseas who receive retirement trust fund payouts (notice I didn't say benefits) are sent a special form annually or semi-annually to fill out and declare they are still alive. This form is not sent to payees living inside the US. But we can collect in any country except Cuba etc.. In the Philippines the postal service is not reliable, therefore many who are sent the form do not receive it. The forms are sent in June but if payers to not respond (maybe they didn't get the letter), February is the month that these payers are suspended. SSA assumes they are dead. If the payee is still alive, he/she can still contact SSA and receive retroactive payments. I criticize SSA for relying on PhilPost as a reliable  communications venue to expats as they are fully aware of how non-functional PhilPost actually is. But, typical government, they don't care. It is the expats' problem. Disappointingly for Fred, who would love to call this a Musk DOGE Trump screw up, sorry, it happens every year. Nothing to do with DOGE. You have just been subjected to anti DOGE click bait that seemingly lives forever on the internet, as your example from February clearly shows. And yes, I do know people that this has happened to and they eventually got their money back. The best solution for them is to deposit their pensions in a USA bank and file taxes with their USA address. Or, make arrangements with their local PhilPost office to notify them if/when something comes in (not recommended as reliable).

Fred said . . . .Some US expats seem to be experiencing issues.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american … 00094.html

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The common sense way of eliminating any future snafu is to maintain an American address. In two decades of receiving SS I have never been asked to show proof of life.

By maintaining a Philippine address you will be flagged and PHL Post will put the last nail in your coffin.