banks refusing to let me open an account

[richsoon]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

[12retepnat34]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

Maybe that bank don't know about bitcoin! try to ask assistant from coins.ph personnel for that matter to help you to open bank account, you should also try using security bank I'm sure they are aware of bitcoin, security bank is a business partner with coins.ph

[engrshu]

That's the disappointing thing about most of thevbanks, they don't believe in bitcoin. Bitcoin is approaching $14k, they better start considering the value of it.

[Bes19]

The reason is they don't know what bitcoin is or they have an idea but they don't believe that bitcoin can bring money and it is one of the great investment. My suggestion is try union bank and security bank.

[bakujo0817]

I think because the bank here in philippines to know about bitcoin or maybe they know but they dont support it becaus bitcoin can kill thier business

[bitminerox0621]

Hi Sir,

Hope this helps, the banks are strict in opening bank accounts especially foreigners because of recent AMLA cases. If you have been staying in the PH for maybe a minimum of 1 year, you can already apply for a naturalization, by then banks will welcome you and only needs valid ID and your naturalization papers.

[CryptoWorld87]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

Maybe you can try security bank and then contact coins.ph for this matter they are the one who realy can help you about that. Maybe the main reason why they dont want you to open its because of some bad news about bitcoin and also banks and goverment cannot earn and hold bitcoin on there hands

[Dabs]

You need an ACR = Alien Certificate of Registration.

Don't mention bitcoin at all. If or when they ask about source of funds, say from abroad or from your previous country. They don't usually ask too many questions after that.

Also, bring cash with you. Maybe 100k PHP, then go look for the bank manager. If they ask why, tell them you need a checking account to issue postdated checks to your landlord or something like that.

[Brahuhu]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

maybe i think if you have some source of income state in the bank , you should not let the bank know that your income is come from bitcoin they will reject you, as what is happened to me in BDO .

[VitKoyn]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

Maybe that bank don't know about bitcoin! try to ask assistant from coins.ph personnel for that matter to help you to open bank account, you should also try using security bank I'm sure they are aware of bitcoin, security bank is a business partner with coins.ph

Of course all banks are aware what is Bitcoin, it is just that some banks don't allow people to use their accounts to buy and sell Bitcoin because they are afraid of it. Which bank are you trying to open an account? It is better if you do not include Bitcoin as source of income when you are opening a bank account here in the Philippines, if you are earning money in some other ways or have a job you can use that as an alternative to your source of funds. There are also some Bitcoin friendly banks here, you can try opening an account in BPI, Security Bank, and Metrobank.

[aervin11]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

Maybe that bank don't know about bitcoin! try to ask assistant from coins.ph personnel for that matter to help you to open bank account, you should also try using security bank I'm sure they are aware of bitcoin, security bank is a business partner with coins.ph

Of course all banks are aware what is Bitcoin, it is just that some banks don't allow people to use their accounts to buy and sell Bitcoin because they are afraid of it. Which bank are you trying to open an account? It is better if you do not include Bitcoin as source of income when you are opening a bank account here in the Philippines, if you are earning money in some other ways or have a job you can use that as an alternative to your source of funds. There are also some Bitcoin friendly banks here, you can try opening an account in BPI, Security Bank, and Metrobank.

I think you are having many knowledge about transactions in the bank already and been in this industry for quite a while. I just want to ask some questions about opening a bank account.

If you are a student what possible source of income is suitable and do you know how much is the limit for that? That would be approved.

What are some requirements for a legally aged citizen to get an account and what kind of account do I need to open when I think of storing my earning from bitcoin also to directly cash out my bitcoin from coinsdotph to get away from high transaction fees from remitance centers.

Also, what are the maximum limit for coinsdotph for lvl3 verification?


Thank you.

[Carrelmae10]

..banks here in the philippines are very strict in opening an account..they will going to ask you if where your funds come from..maybe that bank dont know what bitcoin really is..maybe you'll need to provide some other details in order to satisfied their bank requirements..try to open other account like security or union bank..and try to contact the admin of coins.ph..they have a thread on this forum..here is the link Coins.ph Official Thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1558587.0
..you could ask them and find some answers on your question..i hope this could help you..

[burner2014]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

may mga bangko kasi na hindi nila acknowledge ang source of income mo ay galing sa bitcoin, katulad ngyari sa kaibigan ko mag oopen lamang sya ng savings account hindi sya pinayagan nung nalaman na sa bitcoin galing ang perang ilalagay nya dito, sa bdo sya nag aply nun, meron naman na tumatanggap ng bitcoin limited nga lang na bangko

[Kambal2000]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

You don't need to mention them about bitcoin you can told them that source of your income is through remittance from your love ones abroad something like that. Banks don't believe in bitcoin yet, I have a filipino friend who has same scenario with you, they don't let him because he told the bank that he is earning online through bitcoin.

[Dabs]

There are NO bitcoin friendly banks. You just have to be friends with either the teller who helps you open the account, or make small talk with the manager.

In case you can not open a checking account immediately, you might be able to open a regular savings account, wait 6 months, then open a checking account with that same bank.

I maintain several different bank accounts, but surely one of them will help you open if you have all the required documents, just never mention bitcoin. They don't need to know.

[akishang]

So I'm a foreigner living in the Philippines and have been funding my stay using coins.ph, but I wanted to open a bank account in order to invest in condos but the banks have been rejecting my account applications on the grounds that my source of income is bitcoin.

Any suggestions? Any bitcoin friendly banks here?

Some banks are so strict that they started rejecting new customers. It seems that they don't want additional work because it will be another work for them. The same thing happened to me before, they asked a lot of questions and asking a lot of requirement - its PS bank, BPI and BPO.Haha. I would recommend that you try to apply online using Union EON card portal. This is more convenient for you and the process was really fast.  Please refer to the link below for more details. Hope this helps and good luck.

https://www.moneymax.ph/blog/how-to-apply-for-an-eon-visa-debit-card-online

[richsoon]

Thanks for all the advice, I considered lying to the bank about my source of income but they told me they would require documentation about the source of funds for any large deposits/transfers and I would need to transfer several millions if I buy a condo here. I'm also scared of having my account frozen if i lie on the application and they feel my usage is suspicious.

I never tried security bank as some have suggested but I got a positive response from HSBC who are reviewing my application and may or may not reject me. If they reject me I will probably try security bank next. I already got rejected at the larger banks

[Dabs]

How do they define "large" ? Maybe 500k PHP is large? I've regularly deposited and withdrawn 1m to 2m to even 4m. They've never asked me for any documents. Anyway, coins.ph, if that's what you use, has a 400k daily limit, so you just need to do that for a few days to get enough to buy a condo.

And, I'm almost sure, you can somehow find a way to get some sort of loan or mortgage for a condo.

[richsoon]

How do they define "large" ? Maybe 500k PHP is large? I've regularly deposited and withdrawn 1m to 2m to even 4m. They've never asked me for any documents. Anyway, coins.ph, if that's what you use, has a 400k daily limit, so you just need to do that for a few days to get enough to buy a condo.

And, I'm almost sure, you can somehow find a way to get some sort of loan or mortgage for a condo.

They didn't define the size of it, but I was intending to withdraw directly from bitstamp and that would make it obvious the source of the funds. As for coins yes I have a level 3 verified account with a 400k daily limit but as yet I do not have a bank account.

What the bank told me is that I normally need to have a savings account for 6 months before I can get a checking account but they were willing to waive that requirement because I had an endorsement letter from the property developer. Unfortunately it seems to get rejected once the application gets passed on to the branch manager for approval (I tried BDO and BPI so far).

[Dabs]

I normally like BDO and BPI, but keep trying the others. Metrobank, PSBank, HSBC (this one needs a little bit more money than the others), RobinsonsBank, SecurityBank.

For your first transaction, use a small amount from coins.ph or rebit.ph, that should work. Then a few days later, make another one from the other site. Then, after that's all good, make a small withdrawal from bitstamp.

Is the price difference that big between stamp and coins? stamp will send dollars, so there might be an exchange rate fee or something if you're not using a dollar account in the Philippines.