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.)
April 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Hi, I’m just curious where did you remitted to which gives better rate than of BDO? Thanks much.