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Filipinos abroad send home over USD 38 billion a year. Compare the best services for cash pickup, GCash, Maya, and bank deposit β and learn how to avoid the most common scams.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sent home approximately USD 38 billion in 2024 β about 8.5% of Philippine GDP and the second-largest remittance corridor in Asia after India. The biggest sending countries are the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. Cash pickup at thousands of agent locations remains popular, but digital wallets (GCash, Maya) and bank deposits are growing fast.
Western Union, MoneyGram, Remitly, Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier, and Palawan Express run dense cash-pickup networks across the Philippines, including in remote provinces. Pickup is usually available within minutes of the sender's payment clearing. Compare the all-in rate (fee plus exchange rate markup) carefully β Western Union's lowest tier is often competitive, but its high tiers can be expensive.
GCash and Maya (formerly PayMaya) are now used by over 80 million Filipinos combined. Sending directly into a recipient's GCash or Maya wallet is fast (minutes), and the recipient can spend at QR-enabled merchants, pay bills, or cash out at partner outlets. Wise, Remitly, WorldRemit, and Instarem all support GCash and Maya as delivery options from most major sending corridors.
BPI, BDO, Metrobank, and Landbank are the most common recipient banks. Bank deposits used to take 1β3 business days but are now typically credited the same business day via the InstaPay rail (under PHP 50,000 per transfer) or PESONet (larger amounts). Direct bank-to-bank international wires via SWIFT remain available but are slower and more expensive than the modern remittance specialists.
Two scams dominate complaints from OFWs and their families: (1) Fake 'tracking number' messages asking the recipient to pay a 'release fee' before pickup β legitimate remittances never charge the recipient. (2) Impersonation scams where someone claiming to be a relative urgently requests money via mobile wallet. Always verify by phone or video call, never act on text-only urgency, and never share a transfer's reference number with anyone except the legitimate recipient.
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