The Western Union branch on West Avenue in Quezon City is nearest to my place, so one morning a few weeks ago, I went there to get a remittance from a friend in the US who asked me to buy Swarovski stuff for her hobby.
I was in a hurry, so I asked Western Union to give me the remittance in pesos. The girl at the counter said their exchange rate was P39.30 to a dollar!
I was outraged. I said, “That’s too much!” I just came back from Bank of the Philippine Islands and Banco De Oro and they were converting at P40.40 to P40.30. That’s an almost one-peso difference. Aren’t they satisfied with the huge remittance fees they charge?As with most Western Union outlets, this one was shoulder-to-shoulder with a moneychanger booth. The moneychanger was offering a P40.20 exchange rate.
“Ok, just give me the remittance in dollars please,” I said, wondering about the intelligence of the owner.
“Sorry ma’am, but we don’t have dollar bills available,” the girl said.
I guess I judged too soon. The owner was indeed intelligent -– and greedy, preying on Filipinos’ vulnerabilities.
There are many choices out there, don’t be a victim to opportunists out there. I claimed my remittance in another outlet, where the moneychanger affiliate gave me an exchange rate that was even better than BDO’s.
(Readers across the globe shared their experiences with cutting the cost of remittances in this blog post. Check it out.)
May 5th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
It is indeed true that with the recession fears coming true the OFWs are surely going to feel the pinch. Given the fact that nearly 13% of the country’s GDP is comprised of the remittance sent by the OFWs in the US we can not deny that a weaker American economy is a worry for us too. It’s time the problem is taken seriously because not only have the prices of essential commodities gone up the value of the dollar is also depreciating.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
What I know (as per my experience), hindi lang WU ang gumagawa ng haw-shao na ito, even some Phil. Comm’l. Banks (esp. those who has branches in the provinces). Let’s say the remitter from abroad wanted to deliver his/her remittance in USdollar to its beneficiary(ies). The beneficiary(ies) will then collect the money to a designated branch at sasabihin they don’t have cash dollar (sic) in their vaults, kung meron man they will offer you a loose change (for all we know loose bills the exchange rate is lower than a 100 dollar bill). So the poor beneficiary(ies) has no options but to swallow the bitter pill.
Jerome
April 21st, 2008 at 7:15 pm
erwyn, sigh. i hope people know better than to fall for it. i was hoping it’s not a Western Union-wide thing…
April 21st, 2008 at 7:15 pm
nina, aba dapat lang kuripot no?!! and it really pays to shop around for the best rates. thanks for the input!
April 21st, 2008 at 7:14 pm
budget travel philippines, good luck on your happy meals. earnings from adsense good enough?