The recent Paypal withdrawal feature got everybody thrilled especially that bank fees are practically free for amounts greater than Php7,000 (and it’s only Php50 if less than that.) Never mind the lower exchange rates as that’s the only way banks benefit from this setup with eBay/Paypal.
The mystery though is that there still seem to be some form of bank fees as I personally experienced the other day. A week ago, I withdrew an amount of $200 from my Paypal account to see how much lower the exchange rates would go. It basically hovers somewhere around Php0.90 less than current day exchange rates. That means my $1 dollar went from Php40.60 to just ~Php39.70 when I transferred it to the bank.
Another withdrawal for the amount of $1,000 a few days later showed the same discrepancy in the exchange rates. Now we know why bank fees are free.
However, the actual amount that reflected in the bank is Php200 short. See screen shots below from Paypal transaction history and Banco de Oro online banking report.
Obviously, the missing Php200 was not reported as a transaction fee. My other theory is that it could be another exchange rate since the dates of transaction span around 3 days (though it’s weird that the rates ended up an with exact Php200 difference).
I withdrew again to another bank to see if there’s gonna be the same Php200 difference. Sent an email to eBay’s PR for SEA to clarify this as local banks are still oblivious of Paypal.
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Wow! That’s quite a lot for a difference in exchange rate. In the 2 bank withdrawals I’ve made so far, Unionbank has made no other deductions aside from the Php50 fee.
Unionbank has made no other deductions on my past 2 withdrawals.
Haven’t tried to withdraw my measly $$ yet, but hope that won’t happen to me =p
@Jeric and Jhay,
what’s the exchange rate for Unionbank?
I want to hear someone’s experience in withdrawing to their BPI Savings Account.
that could be bank-related. i used my metrobank account and i experienced the same thing: the credited amount is 200 pesos short.
but when using the EON. I’m not sure if Unionbank deducts an additional amount because i haven’t really checked.
so in effect, either way (to credit/debit/card or pinas bank account) you withdraw paypal funds eh halos 5$ lang din and charge.
baka pumatak pang mas mahal yung withdraw to bank account na 50+200 = 250/40=6.25$ depending on how much the dollar really is.
I withdrew funds to two separate local banks (BPI and Chinabank) with amounts of more than 7K and both times there was a discrepancy of 200 pesos.
I wonder where my 400 pesos went.
True, BPI has hidden fees., naloka ako sa kaka-calculate. So I go back to EON, at least dun clear na 5$ lang ang fee.
same thing happened with my Paypal to BDO withdrawal, 200 pesos was deducted.
hmmm… Same thing for bdo, and when you talk to their info desk, they can’t even muster PayPal. I’m just happy my eon card just got here today. Let me try this one…
same here. it was around Php150 - Php200… on my BPI express cash account.
I transferred 5k from my PayPal to Union Bank account, sent on 2/11, received on 2/14. Pretty quick.
That depends on your bank. I think it’s the usual bank transfer fee when one transfers from a foreign-currency deposit account to a PhP account. Some banks, I think, even charge PhP 500. Some charge lower (like Metrobank).
in that case - and the fact that the USD to PHP conversion of paypal is too low, I’d rather use the withdraw to card option wherein my local card provider will convert my paypal funds based on their current conversion rate.
thanks for the tips everyone.
so, I’d rather get myself an EON account. 
Paypal to Metrobank withdrawal last Monday with the amounts of $200=7K+. P76.7 was deducted. mas mababa ng 0.70-0.80 ang exchange rate.
sa akin ok na yun, wala akong eon eh, hindi binigay yung card ko, I need to present 2 valid IDs daw. kaso driver license lang meron ako at original marriage contract and birth certificate pero gusto nila galing pa ng NSO. ganun sila ka higpit sa isang debit card na wala namang laman at babayaran ko pa.
@sherwin Banks also accept Postal IDs. Getting one is actually easy. Just go to your resident city’s post office and ask how to avail of one. A GSIS or SSS card is also acceptable.
Nowadays, a lot of banks and even some shopping malls now ask for two IDs instead of just one to confirm your identity. Getting that postal ID will actually help in the long run.
I guess it’s better to withdraw to UnionBank. Never experienced the P200 deduction, so far.
Unionbank hasn’t made any deduction as for me so far.. I already withdrawn money several times and the only deduction is the Php50 of PayPal..
http://paypalsucks.com/PayPalFormerEmployee1.shtml
paypal truth
Just wanna know if what BDO account u used to link on ur paypal? Is it the credit card or the BDO ATM debit account (with mastercard logo)? Mine is the latter but always get denied by paypal…. what seems to be the problem? so frustrating…
as of the P200 mystery lost from making money transfer via BDO…i heard it’s their flat rate charge for online transactions…same as to China Bank.
@karla - nag withdraw na ako sa BPI at may hidden fee din, pero di ko nalang pinansin.. mga 200+ din cguro
hehe
hello, im currently working in one of our local banks mentioned above, as far as i know, hindi siya hidden charges, everytime u withdraw kc from any other bank aside from ur own bank (e.g. metrobank to bpi or vice versa), especially if ur card is an international one ( with logo of cirrus, maestro, plus, mastercard, visa, amex etc.) normally $3.50 ang withdrawal fee, plus pag nag balance inquire ka pa, another $1.50 pa un, multiplied by conversion rate for that day. so since nag out ka ng funds mo, considered w/wal din cia. AND hindi ang local banks ang kumikita dun, but the networks like mastercard, visa and the like, though ang alam ko, may certain commission lang ang local banks but very minimal lang ciempre, for the cost of using their atm machines.