Expat expertise needed

@Travelnman

I see you have been a forum member for near 4 months and have access to a plethora of info on this site with regards to your asks and only takes a simple search.

When you get here have you considered the visa type you will apply for? If a visitor visa then it will take months to open a bank account here but you can still access funds using your debit card in a hole in the wall until you get set up, OTP's and 2FA's need to be considered also for accessing your funds once you are set up here with a bank account, plenty on this topic here and how to deal with the problem you will face.

Government institutions/companies/mail forwarding/banking for me is all digital and done online and I set  that up before I moved here permanently but had a house and phone number here in PH. so was relatively easy.

I would put a lot of wheels in motion while you have time in the US before you move here.

Building a house? Foreigners cannot own land here only a condo or secure a long term lease or simply rent.

Honestly moving to another country is not like moving suburb or state and requires a lot of research and planning.

Good luck.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl

OTP's and 2FA's need to be considered also for accessing your funds once you are set up here with a bank account, plenty on this topic here and how to deal with the problem you will face.

Excellent and important advice, Steve, for Americans moving out of country. And with most US banks and many credit cards, online banking usually requires the worst form of 2FA for expats (in addition to it being least secure), i.e. SMS code sent to a cell phone. Charles Schwab may be an exception that accepts alternate 2FA. For sim SMS you will need a US non-voip number that can receive texts in the phils sent from USA banks. Everybody seems to have a different solution for this. If you will require internet contact with your bank, you had best work that out before coming here.

Yes Dan, read all about the problems and debacles US citizens face with banking from O/S and I seriously think the OP needs to look into this big time as well as notifying the bank/s that he will be O/S so they can unlock credit and debit cards used in other countries well before getting on a flight.

Unlike the US and maybe Oz is slack but for me my main bank simply sends me an OTP to my PH. number while the other I have an app and they send me a 6 digit code to log in and again if I want to transfer funds either in Oz or to O/S, seems to work perfectly.

As said moving countries is not like moving states and requires serious research and plenty of patience and not pretending to be naive as it's certainly going to come back and bite you.

Cheers, Steve.

You should also consider the fact that if the only way that you can get cash is through ATM's with a foreign card, nearly all the banks here will charge you P200 or P250 for each ATM transaction. If however you are already in a relationship with a Filipina that you can trust then you can send money to her bank account through remittance companies.

@FindlayMacD

By the way, the advice you receive will be different for different nationalities because of the rules your home country banks follow.

I would also consider bringing in nice crisp US dollars and the receipt for that for the money changers but remember the max is US 10K. After 3/4 months once you have your ACR1 card then good luck opening a bank account,,,,, took 4 banks for me even with a 12 month lease on a condo and a Filipino partner with me. Banks here are franchised and each manager has their own rules for their bank/s.

Cheers, Steve.

Since you are still in the US you may consider opening an account with Philippine National Bank

or Metro Bank

We have an account with PNB New York City which was set up via Zoom call. But you must be physically in the US to do this. Google PNB New York for contact information

When we remodeled our house it was easy to do bank to bank transfer in the US then collect the money as needed locally in 2 to 3 days at the nearest PNB branch.  As we transferred between 5 and 9 K per transaction it was cheaper with a better exchange rate than using Western Union or Remitly

As stated earlier make sure your bank and credit card companies know you are here!

i kept my US phone number for $25 a month (Visible by Verizon) so I can call the US if needed and receive security pins for logging into banks and Social Security if required.

There is lot of information on this site, just do a search

You should also consider the fact that if the only way that you can get cash is through ATM's with a foreign card, nearly all the banks here will charge you P200 or P250 for each ATM transaction. If however you are already in a relationship with a oFilipina that you can trust then you can send money to her bank account through remittance companies. - @FindlayMacD

Right, you don't really need atm's although they are convenient. You can also remit the funds to yourself using remitly and the like for pickup at palawan, Lhuillier, LBC and many more or by Western Union for pickup at western union

or, yes, to your gf bank account. But if you need online banking you need to handle 2FA. I noticed my bank still does telephone banking, very old and very slow, but it works for balance transfers, inquiries and the like, even using magicjack voip. If I had to do that it would be a big step backwards but that old 1980's method still works at my bank.

@gregparker6201

I had an account with PNB Europe for many years before I decided to live here in the Philippines (at that time I was married to a Filipina who I had brought to live with me in the UK) and although the PNB Europe account based in London was very useful for sending money to the Philippines, you have to realise that any overseas PNB bank accounts don't mean anything here in the Philippines, not even for references, all overseas PNB banks are completely separate PNB Philippines.

@bigpearl

All of your foreign currency notes should be absolutely flawless if you are going to exchange them here in the Philippines or the banks and or the money changers won't accept them. I went to a money changer here in Cagayan De Oro with £500 UK currency and the money changer rejected four £20 notes, so I only got what was the equivalent of £420 in PHP.

@bigpearl
All of your foreign currency notes should be absolutely flawless if you are going to exchange them here in the Philippines or the banks and or the money changers won't accept them. I went to a money changer here in Cagayan De Oro with £500 UK currency and the money changer rejected four £20 notes, so I only got what was the equivalent of £420 in PHP. - @FindlayMacD

That is one problem with bringing currency here. In the US there is another problem. Although by law you can bring in up to $10K, TSA at US airports will often alert local law enforcement when a traveler has more cash than normally fits in one's wallet. So on the domestic legs of your trip, if you are carrying $3K or more, although this is perfectly legal, the law enforcement officer may say he has reasonable suspicion that by carrying all that money you must be dealing drugs or money laundering. He will not arrest you but he can and will sieze the money. You must sue in court to get it back. It's called "civil asset forfieture". You are free to continue your trip minus your cash. This is kind of a new problem at USA airports but SCOTUS has ruled this is legal. It is often not worthwhile to sue due to costs and law enforcement knows it is all BS but their departments get enriched by the extra money that is forfeited. So the cash must be perfect and it stands a risk of confiscation. Debit and credit cards are the way to bring money here or remittance transfers after you arrive.

@FindlayMacD

we have had no issues with our PNB account

On the app I can see the balance in New York in Dollars and locally in pesos. The difference in banking laws between US and European may be the reason for this

My thanks to all who replied

Your information is very much appreciated

Feel free to add any more advice  on thus subject

Regards

Traveling man59

@gregparker6201

To follow up on your statements, are you able to transfer $ from your PNB US account to your PNB Philippine account all by just using the one PNB app.

If so what do they call this service in their app ?

Or a better question would be, are both your accounts showing up in the same app ?

I made a mistake in stating I could see the funds in both currencies. Haven’t used the PNB app in a while

I just have a single $ balance showing

when we get the actual money from the bank it’s converted at current exchange rate

Back in the old days when the wife & I lived in the states we always sent dollars (WU) to be picked up.

Because her sons could get a better exchange rate on their own converting Dollars to PHP.

Back in the old days when the wife & I lived in the states we always sent dollars (WU) to be picked up.
Because her sons could get a better exchange rate on their own converting Dollars to PHP. - @Enzyte Bob

Back in the old days when the wife & I lived in the states we always sent dollars (WU) to be picked up.
Because her sons could get a better exchange rate on their own converting Dollars to PHP. - @Enzyte Bob
I am in the Philippines now and sent myself money via Western Union to be picked up when needed during my visit. - @Cherryann01

I did thar a few times. Back during the pandemic I sent money to workers on another Island to the local WU office. Somewhere around 2021 I discovered remitly and used that instead because then I could send to Palawan which was located closer to them. But I had used WU to send money to the Philippines since 1988 with never a hint of a problem. Only these newer services seem to give us very occasional KYC problems.

@Enzyte Bob

Back in the old days when the wife & I lived in the states we always sent dollars (WU) to be picked up.

The pundits of Lieutenant Columbo (including myself) never did get to meet the frequently referred to 'wife'. Does she exist?

@Enzyte Bob
Back in the old days when the wife & I lived in the states we always sent dollars (WU) to be picked up.
The pundits of Lieutenant Columbo (including myself) never did get to meet the frequently referred to 'wife'. Does she exist? - @Lotus Eater

Maybe she left him as for some reason he's never promoted ? 😮😥

https://columbo.fandom.com/wiki/Lieutenant_Columbo

Lieutenant Columbo

Lieutenant Franklin "Frank" Columbo is a police detective in the Los Angeles Police Department.

Character biography

Frank Columbo was born to Italian-American parents in New York City. Growing up, his hero was Joe DiMaggio. He also liked gangster pictures. Ironically, when growing up, he was not a model child, as he ran with a crowd of boys that broke street lamps and played pranks.

Columbo himself jokes that he joined the police force in a part to make up for these pranks.

He has a wife whose first name is never mentioned but is referred to as 'Mrs. Columbo'. A picture of her is shown in the episode: Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo, However, Columbo reveals later in that episode that it's actually a picture of his sister in law because his wife doesn't like to have pictures taken of her.

Columbo also has a Basset Hound and in the episode, 'Murder A Self Portrait' Columbo says the name of the dog is 'Dog'.

He states that he does not have any children in Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo but this is almost certainly a lie as it was told to a woman who wanted to kill his wife. On the other hand, he mentions children to people he likes and trusts in Any Old Port In A Storm. This suggests that he does really have children, although number, gender and other details are not stated.

The novels reveal more detail about Columbo's children: In The Grassy Knoll, he talks about 2 of his kids going to a certain college meaning he has at least 2 children. In The Helter Skelter Murders, he states he has a daughter. Since he has at least 3 children, this means that he has a daughter and at least 2 sons. He also states that his children are younger than a character who has a nephew whose image is shown in the episode: Columbo Goes to College.

Columbo's IQ is estimated to be approximately 160-190.

Style of Investigation

Columbo is a disheveled, shabbily dressed, seemingly slow-witted police detective whose fumbling, overly polite manner makes him an unlikely choice to solve any crimes, least of all murder. However, he is actually a brilliant detective with an eye for minute details and the ability to piece together seemingly unrelated incidents and information to solve crimes.

Columbo is one of few LAPD personnel, if not the only policeman in the LAPD, who does not carry a firearm, maintaining both that he hates guns and that he is an atrocious shot. (In "Forgotten Lady," this leads an Internal Affairs investigator infamous for his own excessive zeal (and, it can be presumed, corruption based on power-hunger) to threaten Columbo with termination unless he retakes his pistol-proficiency test; Columbo instead has another detective take it in his place.) He also rarely visits Parker Center, the police department headquarters building, maintaining, "That's rarely where the murders take place!"

Rank

Throughout the series Columbo remains a Lieutenant, never receiving a promotion despite the number of homicide cases he solves over the years.

`

Travelnman59 writes "I need some expert advice on what I need to do about banking and how you get government business conducted like income taxes and how  to transfer money .."

Suggest you don't try this way Travelnman ..

"Group caught with P440 million at Cebu airport"

By Emmanuel Tupas - The Philippine Star May 11, 2025

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/05/11/2442162/group-caught-p440-million-cebu-airport

[Poto caption:  Group caught with P440 million at Cebu airport.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director Gilbert Cruz said the suspects were intercepted at the security screening area of the airport’s general aviation terminal at around 10:30 p.m. Philstar.com / Irra Lising]

MANILA, Philippines — Nine foreigners and two Filipinos were arrested after they were caught carrying trolley bags which contained over P440 million in cash at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Friday.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director Gilbert Cruz said the suspects were intercepted at the security screening area of the airport’s general aviation terminal at around 10:30 p.m.

With the seizure of the cash and the arrest of the suspects happening days before Monday’s elections, authorities are checking the possibility that the funds were intended for poll-related “interference.”

Six of the foreigners are Chinese nationals, one Malaysian, one Indonesian and a citizen from Kazakhstan. They were accompanied by two Filipinos who were also apprehended by airport security personnel.

Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said one of the Chinese men, Wu Song, has a red notice alert for fraud from the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.

She said two other suspects, Li Fei and Chen Hao, have warrants of arrest for various crimes.

Fajardo said the foreigners arrived in Cebu on Friday at around 9 a.m. on board a van and went straight to a casino where White Horse Club, one of the junket operators linked to the kidnap-slay of Filipino-Chinese businessman Anson Que, used to operate.

The suspects went back to the airport and were supposed to board a private plane at around 11:30 p.m. when they were arrested.

Police earlier said the P200-million ransom paid by Que’s family ended up in 10 different e-wallet accounts and was converted to cryptocurrency after passing through White Horse Club and 9Dynasty Group, another junket operator.

Airport security personnel detained the suspects after they saw large sums of cash inside the trolley bags they were carrying, which were subjected to x-ray screening.

Based on initial inventory, Fajardo said the trolley bags contained P441,922,542 as well as $168,730 and 1,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Fajardo said the suspects violated Commission on Elections Resolution No. 11104 which regulates the transportation of large sums of money during the election period.

Under the measure, possession, transportation or carrying of cash exceeding P500,000 in public places is prohibited two days before and on election day except for authorized persons.

Casino winnings?

Fajardo said the casino sent a certification from White Horse Club hours after the suspects were captured, stating the amounts were winnings.

This further raised suspicions from personnel of the Aviation Security Group led by its director, Brig. Gen. Christopher Abecia.

Fajardo said they are investigating if portions of the money seized were part of the ransom paid by Que’s family.

Apart from its possible connection to Que’s murder, the money seized may have been intended to finance election-related unlawful activities, Fajardo said, citing a report from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

“Aside from money laundering, these foreign nationals might be a conduit to be used to interfere or at least influence the election,” she said.

Fajardo said the passing of large sums of cash through junket operators which are supposed to be no longer operating, is a cause of national concern. “This is a grave threat to national security.”

Cashed out in Cambodia

Fajardo said bulk of the P200-million ransom money paid by the family of Que had been cashed out from a financial firm based in Cambodia.

She said around $1.36 million or P75.77 million was cashed out from Huione Pay.

“What’s significant here is this Huione was investigated by the US government before for alleged money laundering,” Fajardo said at a news briefing in Camp Crame.

She said they traced the money through a cryptocurrency account which entered Huione Pay.

Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo were found dead in Montalban, Rizal even after Que’s family had paid ransom.

They were kidnapped in March and held captive in a house in Meycauyan City in Bulacan where they were killed.

A Chinese national identified as David Tan Liao and his Filipino cohorts, Richardo Austria and Reymart Catequista, are under police custody. Two other suspects, Gong Wenli and Jonin Lin, are still at large.

Fajardo said the Anti-Cybercrime Group tracked down $205,942 or about P11.43 million, believed to be part of the ransom money, now frozen after the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group communicated with the cryptocurrency accounts outside the country.

--

Lotus Eater asked about Columbo's wife . . . . The pundits of Lieutenant Columbo (including myself) never did get to meet the frequently referred to 'wife'. Does she exist?

***************************

Courtesy of Gemini (AI)

There was a spinoff, Mrs. Columbo played by Kate Mulgrew more well known as Captain Janeway in Star Trek Voyager 1995-2001.

In1978 during the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, Peter Falk while still in character said his wife's name was Rose.

@Enzyte Bob

We did that every month for about 5 years until we got tired of going to WU, Changer then to bank, it was cheaper but a hassle driving, parking etc.

Bank to bank via WU has lower rate but much more convenient for us now. Just a few $ more expensive.  Just a few clicks and done.

vehicross100 said . . . .  We did that every month for about 5 years until we got tired of going to WU, Changer then to bank, it was cheaper but a hassle driving, parking etc.
Bank to bank via WU has lower rate but much more convenient for us now. Just a few $ more expensive. Just a few clicks and done.

******************************

Living in Las Vegas the biggest foreign minority was Mexicans & the second biggest was Filipinos (110,000).

WU had a special rate (ofw) for remittances to Mexico & Philippines. We were sending $500 every two weeks, the rate was $5. You sent $500 they received $500 for that $5 fee.

Rebuilding  our house we wired $10,000 several times bank to bank. Fortunately the company I worked for did Business to Business with Citibank. I  had the keys to the banks and the alarm codes when I made pickups (non cash) after hours. Also the majority of the employees at our branch were Filipinos and even the manager. So I was never charged for wire transfers.

P1 - I arrived at Mactan Cebu airport on Thursday so clearly not bringing in a wheelbarrow full of cash haha

CA writes, " I arrived at Mactan Cebu airport  on Thursday so clearly not bringing in a wheelbarrow full of cash haha - @Cherryann01

Turns out a good thing you didn't also try their clever trick, CA 🤣

"Airport security personnel detained the suspects after they saw large sums of cash inside the trolley bags they were carrying .. which were subjected to x-ray screening .. and their trolley bags contained P441,922,542 .. also US $168,730."

Btw .. sure we all send best wishes for your trip, Cherryann-man!

Keep us informed? Enquiring minds need to know, our mate CA 😉

`

@PalawOne

Well the 4 day stopover in Hong Kong was fantastic, loved the place and great friendly people. Unlike last year in Manila I was never approached by men trying to sell me viagra. Only person who approached me trying to sell me anything was handing out cards for tailored suits. Just shows the difference haha.

spent 4 nights in Cebu but just arrived to Bohol today by ferry. The resort we are staying in is owned by a German guy. Lots of Central European dishes on offer at the restaurant like curryverst and goulash so I did have an idea there was a European influence. The French fries are actually chips for us Brits also.

Will probably just chill by the pool tomorrow and go to the beach and probably take a tour of the island the day after. Not burnt or bitten yet so all is good.

@Cherryann01

Don’t forget to visit the Aluna Beach Lounge bar that I recommended CA around sundown. Lots of friendly expats and visiting divers and there’s a really good vibe.

Some excellent finger food is served to accompany your libation. The girls behind the bar are welcoming and friendly.

@Lotus Eater

Went to Tagbilaran today and saw a spider the size of my hand on the wall of one of the shops.

@Cherryann01

Probably a big Australian Huntsman spider. Crazy fast when they move. Hardly ever bites.

@Cherryann01

Anything like one of these guys?

@Cherryann01
Anything like one of these guys? - @Aidan in HCMC

No but if any of you kind people will tell me how to upload a picture on here, I have one

@Cherryann01

`

Well, all I did was join: www.imgur.com upload photos

and request urls for those web-mounted photographs.

Putting them here, choose the hills-graphic above then

copy & paste your new Imgur urls for each photograph

`

@Cherryann01
Anything like one of these guys? - @Aidan in HCMC
No but if any of you kind people will tell me how to upload a picture on here, I have one
- @Cherryann01

The only thing you can upload is a web address containing the picture, more trouble than it's worth I think.

@Cherryann01
`
Well, all I did was join: www.imgur.com upload photos
and request urls for those web-mounted photographs.
Putting them here, choose the hills-graphic above then
copy & paste your new Imgur urls for each photograph
` - @PalawOne

Alternatively, many members on the VN forum use postimages.org . No registration necessary.

Choose "Do not resize my image", and "No expiration" (for the benefit of future readers of a thread).

Choose your image, and upload it. Once uploaded, copy the second in the list of URLs, titled "Direct link" (the other URLs will not work on expat.com).

Paste that URL into the picture field member PalawOne  referenced. Presto!

Looking forward to seeing that hand-sized creepy crawly of yours😀

`

Good on you Aidan.

Bet CA's simply relaxing .. busy doing nothing

Guess that's what holidays are for? Not so much

a time for desktop work, on mobile phones, so to

send us all Aussie Huntsman spider photographs?

Have more fun in the Phiippines CA and friends

Happy trails

No but if any of you kind people will tell me how to upload a picture on here, I have one  - @Cherryann01

The only thing you can upload is a web address containing the picture, more trouble than it's worth I think. - @danfinn

Huh? It's only 3 steps for a member to display an interesting photo.

Upload, copy, paste.

Back in Cebu now and whilst at breakfast today in my hotel I met Werner, the German guy who owned the resort I stayed in in Bohol a few days ago. Talk about coincidence.