The Best BDO Unibank Remittances Partners in the Philippines: Exchange Rates and Fees

Banco de Oro, also known as BDO Unibank, is one of the largest and most trusted commercial banks in the Philippines. You can send cash pick-ups to friends and family in the Philippines with BDO, but bank wire transfers, Xoom, and Western Union are quite expensive.

You can send cheaper cash remittances from abroad to BDO through many 3rd-party money transfer specialists, such as Remitly. To compare your best options and save money on your next remittance, you can also use our real-time money transfer comparison engine below.

Read our full list of recommendations further down to find services that offer better rates when sending money to BDO in the Philippines.

Option 1 — Digital Remittance Platforms

Banco de Oro is one of the most widely used banks in the Philippines for both residents and those living abroad. Payouts by cash delivery and cash pick-up are available at any BDO domestic branch and BDO pay-out partners.

But first, you'll need to send your money from overseas to a BDO location. This process can take many days and cost a lot in fees if you use expensive services, like high-street banks, PayPal, and other traditional providers. If you use a digital money transfer specialist, like Remitly or WorldRemit, then you can save with good exchange rates and send transfers in a matter of hours or even minutes.

To get started, sign up for Remitly or WorldRemit (the process is quick, easy, and free) and choose your delivery method (money transfer, cash delivery, or cash pick-up). Enter your beneficiary's information and the desired final location, and confirm your transfer. The delivery is often instantaneous!

Let's walk through the top 6 cheapest online BDO remittance partners that can send you money transfers, cash delivery, or cash pick-up to BDO:

Remitly

Remitly is a US-based remittance platform that has been the number one cheapest money transfer service to the Philippines on Monito's comparison engine from October 2021 to October 2022. It supports cash delivery and cash pick-up to BDO locations in the Philippines from popular countries like the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Average cost to the Philippines: -0.01%*

Available send countries: the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, the EU, and many more.

Unavailable major send countries: Japan, India, UAE, Malaysia, Turkey

BDO limits: USD 2,999 within 24 hours, USD 10,000 within 30 days, and USD 18,000 within 180 days

More info: See our full Remitly review or visit their website.

* Includes a promotional exchange rate for first-time users.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit is a UK-based remittance platform that has been the second cheapest money transfer service to the Philippines on average on Monito's comparison engine from October 2021 to October 2022. It does not usually provide the best exchange rates for certain countries, but it does specialize in keeping costs low specifically for remittances to the Philippines! It supports cash delivery and cash pick-up to BDO locations in the Philippines from 52 countries, including the US, the UAE, Japan, and many more.

Average cost to the Philippines: -1%*

Available send countries: the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, the EU, Malaysia, the UAE, more.

Unavailable major send countries: India, Turkey

BDO limits: Maximum send amount per 24 hours is USD 9,000.

More info: See our full WorldRemit review or visit their website.

* Includes Zero fees on your first 4 transfers with code 4FREEMONITO*

Wise

Wise is a UK-based remittance platform that is formerly known as TransferWise. While it is a partner of BDO, it does not support cash delivery and cash pick-up to BDO locations in the Philippines. Instead, you will need to send your remittance to BDO first as an international bank transfer, and then schedule a cash pick-up separately.

Average cost to the Philippines: -1.1%*

Available send countries: the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, the EU, S Korea, more.

Unavailable major send countries: None.

More info: See our full Wise review or visit their website.

Small World

Small World is based in the UK and offers one of the most extensive networks of payout locations worldwide. It is a BDO remittance partner and is often a reasonable option for cash remittances to the Philippines.

Average cost to the Philippines: -1%*

Available send countries: the USA, the UK, the EU.

Unavailable major send countries: India, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Singapore, HK, and the UAE.

More info: See our full Small World review or visit their website.

Ria

Ria is one of the largest remittance companies in the world, operating agent locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and online. They are usually not the cheapest provider to Banco de Oro in the Philippines.

Average cost to the Philippines: -2%*

Available send countries: Ria runs online services only in U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia

Unavailable major send countries: India, Turkey, Singapore, HK, and the UAE.

More info: See our full Ria review or visit their website.

Xoom

Xoom is a subsidiary of PayPal and is a very well known online money payment service worldwide. However, it is one of the most expensive ways to send money transfers internationally and is one of the most expensive remittance partners of BDO, which is why we strongly recommend against using Xoom.

Average cost to the Philippines: -4.5%*

Available send countries: the USA, the UK, the EU, and most others.

Unavailable major send countries: None.

More info: See our full Xoom review or visit their website.

Option 2 — Legacy Platforms

In addition to the convenient digital BDO remittance partners we discussed above, BDO also accepts remittances from traditional players like Western Union and MoneyGram. Although legacy platforms are usually more expensive than online platforms, their worldwide branches are accepted by BDO.

If you live in a country where Remitly or WorldRemit is unavailable, legacy platforms may still offer decent exchange rates. But before you choose a provider, we recommend you compare money transfer providers so you can check if Western Union and MoneyGram are giving you a good deal to the Philippines.

Let's go over the leading platforms in this category:

Western Union

Western Union is the largest and oldest money transfer operator in the world, offering money transfers cash pick-ups to the Philippines from dozens of countries across the globe.

Average cost to the Philippines: Approx. -1.2%

Available major send countries: All

Unavailable major send countries: None

BDO limits: USD 1,500 per day

More info: See our full Western Union review or visit their website.

MoneyGram

After Western Union, MoneyGram is the second-largest money transfer operator in the world and also offers money transfers and cash pick-ups to Banco de Oro from a large number of countries worldwide.

Average cost to the Philippines: Approx. -0.9% + $5 fee

Available major send countries: All

Unavailable major send countries: None

BDO limits: $10,000 every 30 days

More info: See our full MoneyGram review or visit their website.

Option 3 — Banks

You also have the standard option of remitting money to a BDO branch or cash-payout location with a bank account abroad.

However, we do not recommend you make an international bank transfer from a foreign bank to BDO in the Philippines. Sending money overseas with a traditional bank is very expensive, amounting to over 5% of the total transaction amount in many cases.

Instead, we highly encourage you to choose a BDO remittance partner like Remitly to cheaply send money home. WorldRemit ranked as the second-best service to the Philippines from October 2021 to October 2022 while Small World ranked as third.

Non-BDO Remittance Partners: 

If your recipient doesn't necessarily need to use a BDO cash delivery or cash pick-up to access their funds, you will still have many other options available to you. You can send money to Filipino banks from abroad with the best money transfer services to the Philippines:

The top five for bank transfers include Remitly (cheapest for 40% of searches in 2022), WorldRemit (cheapest for 15%), Wise (cheapest for 14%), Skrill (cheapest for 11%), and Panda Remit (cheapest for 3%).

Since rates change all the time, compare services in real-time with Monito to find the best international money transfer specialist for remittances to the Philippines: