The Philippines features among the world’s top remittance receiving countries. Remittances comprise as much as ten percent of the country’s GDP. The fact is, many Filipinos send money to their families on a regular basis and contribute to a better overall life of their loved ones back home. An important part of this amazing accomplishment is the improvement in the ease, speed and cost effectiveness of sending money to the Philippines. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in a typical remittance transfer by an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) nowadays.

The need to keep things simple

In 2018, the total remittances sent to the Philippines amounted to US$ 33.7 billion, ranking third worldwide, after only India and China. Remittances raise the living standards of millions of Filipino families – international money transfers enable children to attend school and seniors to get access to healthcare. A large proportion of remittance beneficiaries in the Philippines are the elderly, women and children, who often have limited mobility and connectivity and rely on such funds from relatives living abroad in order to achieve better life conditions. Moreover, the nature of these remittances is recurring, usually on a monthly basis. When looking for the best way to send money to the Philippines, expats look for a reliable service with the most convenience and least effort on part of the recipients – a service such as Ria Money Transfer.

Ria Money Transfer

One of the most popular ways of sending money home for Filipino expats living in the US is by using the services of Ria Money Transfer. Loved by customers worldwide, Ria has grown by leaps and bounds over the years to become one of the largest money transfer services on the planet. Expats prefer Ria Money Transfer for its simplicity, speed, reliability and low cost. An additional benefit of using Ria is the versatility at both ends of the transaction, making it easier to send and receive money on any occasion. But how long does it take to send money to the Philippines? That depends on the options you choose when doing your money transfer. Let’s go over a few steps:

The steps

• First time users: You can initiate an international money transfer from your bank account, debit card or credit card. Ria’s price calculator will show you that some payment methods can be more affordable while others can be faster. For example, bank account payments typically take longer than card payments. Choose the option that matches your needs best.

• Verification: Your security is paramount. For new users Ria performs a simple verification of your bank account which typically takes up to 1-2 business days. The speed of verification primarily depends on the processing time taken by your bank. Verification is a one-time only process, and, once you are registered, future transactions will become a breeze.

• Required information: You’ll be asked to provide the recipient’s name as per their government-issued ID, as well as their address and phone number.

• Payout mode one – Bank deposit: You can easily transfer money into the bank accounts of your recipients in the Philippines simply by providing an account number and a routing number. You will get an email notification when the money reflects in your recipient’s bank account.

• Payout mode two – Cash pickup: You can opt to have your recipient pickup cash in local currency conveniently from a nearby payout location. Ria has 369,000 agent locations in 149 countries. Select a preferred local payout location at the time of initiating the transfer. To collect cash, your recipient will simply need a valid government issued photo ID along with the order number found on their receipt. Ria will send you an email notification when your recipient has picked up the cash.

• Payout mode three – Home delivery: Available from Ria in a select few countries including the Philippines, a courier service can deliver cash directly to your recipient’s home or office. It is also one of the fastest methods of receiving money. On average, using home delivery, cash is delivered on the same day.

The logistics

• Cost calculation: For every transfer you can know in advance exactly how much it would cost and the exact amount in local currency which your beneficiary will get. Use Ria’s super convenient price calculator to find your total transaction cost. You don’t even need to be registered to use it!

• Tracking: You will get email notifications updating you of the progress throughout the money transfer process, up to the point when your recipient gets their funds. You also have the option to manually track a transfer in case you want more detailed information throughout the money transfer process.

Ready to send money online to the Philippines? You can use our Ria Money Transfer website or our app – download the latest version for iOS or Android today and let’s get started! Or, if you prefer, you can simply go to the nearest Ria location to do it easily and quickly.