My wife and friends and I were having dinner, and while we…

It's a bank account in the Philippines but in dollars. Having both is the best way to make the most of the exchange rate. I have both a peso account and a dollar account at BPI. I send large amounts from my US bank to my BPI dollar account. Since it's dollars to dollars, there's no exchange rate worry. Then I keep watching the current exchange rate. When the rate is high and favorable, I move part of the dollar account into my peso account at that high rate. Since both are BPI accounts, there's no middleman conversion fee. A third-party remittance app might have a decent rate, but there's a small fee on every transaction. Right now all my living expenses and withdrawals come out of my peso account. Even if the rate drops, the money was already converted when the rate was high, so I always get a good rate.

A dollar account is one where you have Social Security or other pension payments deposited directly from the US. When Social Security sends it to an intermediary bank like Citibank or Wells Fargo, that intermediary then sends it to a Philippine bank. Wherever the bank's headquarters are, they put US dollars into that cash account. At the branch you only get a passbook, there's no online access, and you have to show up in person to withdraw. To check your balance you have to call the branch, and even customer service can't look up this account, so you and a bank staff member have to meet in person. It takes about two days from issuance until the money lands in the cash account, and then you have to go to the bank to transfer or withdraw, and then convert it to cash at that bank or elsewhere. It's very restrictive. Now you can also have Social Security paid directly into a peso account with an ATM card and online access. Either account must be in your sole name; joint accounts aren't allowed. If you're hospitalized and can't go to the bank, the rules require the bank to send a representative to your bedside with documents to make the transfer. But if you're unconscious, that doesn't work either. That was the old way, and since it recently changed to allow peso accounts, you can skip those steps. Social Security won't send payments to just any Philippine bank. There's a list of approved banks, and I'll tell you what it is.

Most banks here will set up a dollar account. Open one, move your pension into that dollar account, and convert dollars to pesos when the peso falls. It's very simple. I use BDO. What I meant by the transfer wasn't sending Social Security directly to a Philippine bank. Let it come into your US bank, then move as much as you want to a dollar account at a Philippine bank. Then convert when the peso value drops.