I got an e-mail today from a reader of this blog, and I could tell from his tone that he was bothered by the issue that he wrote about. He was asking about financial issues, credit reporting and other such issues and how he would handle these kinds of things if he decided to move to the Philippines. It was obvious to me that this was quite important to him.
Let’s take a look at part of the message he sent me:
What happened to your relationships with your financial institutions in the states after you made your move there? Did you notify the three credit unions (equifax, experian, etc), credit card and retirement institutions(if you have any) about your foreign address or do you still keep a US address and used that instead?
Well, this could all be handled in a number of different ways, so let’s take a look at the way I did it.
The first thing that I did before moving here was that I sold my house, and some of my major assets in the USA, so these were no longer a burden or even a concern for me. I paid off all of my debts before leaving the USA, so there was no need for changing the address or otherwise even notifying them of my move. I opened an account with a local branch of “Mail Boxes Etc.” and asked them to forward my mail received to my address in the Philippines once per month. As you can imagine, the cost of forwarding mail to the Philippines was not low! I filed a change of address with my local Post Office, and had the mail forwarded to the Mail Boxes Etc. address. I kept all of this going for about a year or so, and at that time I felt that it was no longer necessary, since I got little mail any longer.
On my bank accounts, I changed the address to that Mail Boxes Etc. address, so when I closed that, I had to make some changes in my banking. At that time, I just changed address to my Mother’s address and had the statements mailed there. I did tell my bank that I was living in the Philippines, but had a US mailing address. They were OK about that. Actually, they are still OK about that, because I am still banking with them to this day.
On credit cards, the credit card companies will not allow you to keep your card if they know you live in the Philippines. Particularly if you live here full time. You see, if you are out of the country like that, it is not easy for them to come after you if the need arises! 😉 I had been told this by a friend who moved here a few years before I did, so I just made a change of address and left it at that. After a few months, they noticed that all of my charges were being made in the Philippines! They contacted me and asked me what was going on. I told them that I was here for a work assignment (I was indeed working here, after all!), and they asked me how long I’d be here. I gave them a date, and when that passed, they chose not to renew my card. It’s OK, I had gotten where I didn’t use it much anyway.
I didn’t feel any need to notify the credit reporting agencies anything about my move. Those guys are like big brother anyway and probably already knew where I was moving before I did!
Now, let me say… what I have talked about here was the way that I did it. I have made some changes in the last 3 years, after learning the ropes a bit. The system that I have described works fine, but I am using a better way now, and I will tell you in my next post how I do it now, and how I recommend you do all of this from day 1. Stand by for that in my next post!
Thats a very good peice of information Bob, anyway, lets be honest, unless you need them for anything, why tell them, they are too nosy anyway, big brother is always watching, I have an international account, so I can live anywhere in the world and use the account via internet, which is why I chose it, being a UK resident is not a requirement, very handy in the future.
I agree with Peter Bennet. Big Brothers are alway butting into your personal financial business. I do all of of my banking transactions through an international credit union firm and I haven't had any problems. ATMs are a good source of quick emegency cash. The only disadvantage with ATMs is it's limited to about 5,000 pesos a day withdrawal in the Philippines, which is a good safeguard feature for me. I know on a daily basis if an identify theft has occured on a daily basis.
What we usually do in order to maintain a substantial amount on our bank account here in the Philippines is to write a check (using my internatioal credit union checkbook) "for deposit" only" and deposit it in my local bank account. It takes about 30 days for it to clear. This is elimates the danger of money laundering (illegal), and having to worry about not having enough cash on hand. You just have to think in advance and write the check(s) for future use. The banks from point A to B will take care of the rest. Goodluck to you. Till next time….
Hi Peter – nice to hear from you! I hope you are doing well. I agree with you, I don't like to report everything in to everybody regarding where I live. It's my business where I live, not other people's business.
Hi Julius – Looks like we all agree! On the ATM machines… if you go to BPI you can get up to P20,000 per transaction out of the machine. We use ATM machines for cash when needed, as well as writing checks on our US account, just like what you say. It's a good system.
Thanks Bob for taking time to answer my inquiry. You've provided more than I needed. Renting a temporary US PO box does make sense in case you have important mails. I'm actually working on setting up an international account so I could easily transfer money. But I'm curious on what Julius said about using checks to avoid money laundering issues. I do believe this, however, I'm not quite sure if it's a very safe way of withdrawing money. This is because your account no., name and possibly address is printed on the check. Any unscrupulous individual maybe able to use this info to his advantage, no?
Hello Bob. Just stumbled upon your site when looking for Philippine info. You said "the credit card companies will not allow you to keep your card if they know you live in the Philippines". Would this apply to all credit cards or are you just referring to USA issued ones? I am retired Canadian and thinking of bevoming a "tourist" down in Philippines (Luzon) for a few years. Thanks for the info. I will have to check with the Visa branch in Canada.
Hi Bob, I primarily use Navy Federal Credit Union for all of my financial needs. I am curious if this issue of credit cards applys to them. If any readers know I would appreciate them passing that along to you. How about debit cards? That is what I primarily use vice credit cards. NFCU has an office with the RAO in Cebu and Subic so I am thinking its not a real issue for me. Thanks,Ron
Yep I said “in the second paragraph … should have attributed it to that person … anyway, just wanted to make sure the wrong word disn’t get eveyone confused. credit Unions work fine (most of them) in the Philippines .. Credit Reporting doesn’t.
It’s a two-edeged sword for sure. Also a big problem for Philippine banks. they can’t operate as banks in the US do … they can’t report on bad credit or good credit to anyone due to the Philippine bank secrecy laws.
If people are trying to rebuild credit by regular bilpaying, etc. they wil get no credit=building good reports if paying through non-US sources.
Just to clear up a potential confusion … in your first paragraph or two the term credit unions was used for the big three consumer credit reporting agencies … credit unions they are not. Hate to get people spilling their coffee on that one LoL.
The credit reporting system does not extend to the Philippines and there is no reciprocity of information. So if you have a lot of credit-rated business going on you really need to maintain a US presence… but, like Bob I have nothing at all going on in the US and I don't know and don't care what my US credit rating is.
It is technically against US banking law for a credit card issuing bank to issue a crad to a foreign resident. Cards that are already issued are essentially at the bank's discretion. Some US issuers will let you keep their card(s) for extended periods of time, others won't, there's no generla rule you must ask the card issuer. It makes abig difference if yu have a US mail address, esepcially a street address like a son or daughter'shome which I do.
debit cards are not credit cards… many banks issue and renew debit cards here in the Philippines with no problem. In particular NetBank is reported to give very good service … I am happy with my US credit union (SSFCU) and have not decided to give anyone else a trial.
As far as Ron LaFluer's question … Hi Ron … Navy FCU also has a good reputation here but as with a bank it is always up to them. I haven't used a US credit card in 8 months except for buying my son a birthday present via Amazon. I sue my Credit Uinon debit card about once every two months to get some ATM cash becuase they have policy of shutting off cards that have not been used in 60 days … same policy they have in the US..aside from that I don't use US cards.
Hi Jac – In the article, I am indeed referring to USA issued cards and such. I don't know for sure about Canada, but my guess is that they would be the same. After all, if you decided to stop paying, it would not be easy for the issuer to chase you down over here!
Hi Ron – Debit cards are not an issue at all. I have a debit card on my US account, and so does Feyma. The bank knows that we live here, and they have no problem with it.
Hi Dave Starr – I just want to be clear, I never used the term "Credit Union" – that was used in a quote from a reader. I used the term "credit reporting agencies."
Hi Dave – Yeah, I understand your intent. When I saw your quote, I thought "Hmm… did I say that?" No worries.
Hello Bob…Bill Huff here……………..i talked with both od my credit card prodiders here in the US. They told me to contact them within 5 days of me leaving to the Phili, the said that they will change my data at that time, and that i will always be able to use thier cards. The one bank does not even any charges for using thier card anywhere in the world.
…sorry Bob…i pushed the send button before i was finished……..All they need to have is a US address to send my yearly statement to, all monthly statements wii be sent to me electonicly via my account.
Hi Bill – Good to hear that you've found a bank that will honor your credit cards even if you live here! Those are few and far between. 😀