or Your US cheques and your Peso Account with the Bank of the Philippine Islands
I had to close my US dollar denominated account early this year when the dollar fell against the peso. I really didn't have any reason to keep it then except for wanting to "play' with the exchange rate. Got burned though, so I decided to cut my losses and closed the account.
Now that I'm keeping several websites updated, the pennies are trickling in again from AdSense. It ain't big, but like the old folks used to say: Walang sentimo, walang piso. (You don't get a buck unless you got a penny.)
On a related note, I saw Rep. Roilo Golez on a show the other night advocating for the demonetization of all our coins except for the 1-peso, 5-peso and 10-peso coins because they're more expensive to produce than they're actual value, and that cash prices should be rounded off to their nearest peso values.
Okay, back to topic. So Adsense cheques are funded in US dollars. Now, I just found out that I don't have to open a dollar account (for BPI you need USD 500 to open one) just so I can encash it because my BPI peso account will take it just fine.
Clearing will take anywhere from 15 to 25 days, depending on whether your account is in Imperial Manila or not, or if the cheque is drawn from within or outside of New York, USA.
I really enjoy banking with BPI, especially their Express Online service! Even the customer service channels are very good. You can email or call them 24/7.
I prefer writing an email when I got questions that aren't urgent or important enough rather than calling and waiting to get hold of a live agent to talk to.
I got one recent peeve though, I think the GCash-BPI cash-out fee is outrageous for transactions below PHP 7,000 .
