Remittance - Australia to Philippines

[rbscebu]

I have been remitting money to the Philippines from Australia for now over 10 years. I have normally used a local Filipina remittance service in Australia for these remittances and recently tried to using bitcoin. Here are my experiences:

Previous Remittances

I would deposit AUD cash into the Australian bank account of my Filipina remittance service and then contact her telling her how much I had deposited and where the PHP was to be delivered or deposited. The Filipina would then deduct her fee (currently AUD13 flat), multiply the balance by the her exchange rate (about 1% less than the current XE rate). The PHP funds were then delivered or deposited, generally within 1 business day. Delivery was only available within Manila (NCR). If the recipient was outside of the NCR, bank deposit only was available.

As an example sending AUD100, using the current rate:

(AUD100 - AUD13) x 34 x 0.99 = PHP2,928 received

Current (Bitcoin) Remittances

First I registered (KYC) with btcmarkets.net and coins.ph. I deposit AUD cash into btcmarkets' Australian bank account. Within the hour, I exchange my AUD into BTC (0.85% fee) and transfer it to my cell phone wallet (fee BTC0.0001). Using the coins.ph app on my phone, I then send the remittance to the recipient, either bank deposit (free) or cash pick-up at the recipient's local remittance business (delivery fee about 3% to 4%). This deposit or cash pick-up is available within 1 business day.

As an example sending AUD100, using the current rates:

AUD100 x 0.9915 / 317.20 = BTC0.31258
BTC0.31258 x 10540 - PHP125(delivery fee) = PHP3,170 delivered (or PHP3,295 bank deposit)

Almost every small towns in the Philippines has at least one pera padala (money remittance) business.

For relative small amounts, using bitcoin is more economical for me. As the amount increases, my previous remittance method is better, depending on exchange rates.

The only hassle with using bitcoin is the one-off of jumping through the KYC hoops at both ends.

Send money from the Philippines to Australia is another matter, and I will post on that at another time.

[doof]

Good write up.

[rbscebu]

Good write up.

Thank you. Although not a great percentage difference, even just a few extra pesos means a lot to many Filipinos, particularly when their daily salary can be well less than PHP300.

[Chef Ramsay]

I highly hope you continue on this endeavor, this is great for such countries and the people that live there as well as for the bitcoin economy. I'm very bullish on bitcoin remittances payments going forward.