Paying hospitals and clinics in the Philippines: a guide for medical-travel facilitators, insurers and employers

Short answer. A hospital in the Philippines sends a treatment estimate in pesos and asks for a deposit before admission. The organisation paying — a medical-travel facilitator, an insurer, an employer's health plan, a referring clinic — pays the exact figure through Storspay to the hospital's bank account at the mid-market rate for 1% all-in, with the patient's name and the estimate number as the reference, and the admissions desk sees a matching domestic credit usually within minutes.

Medical travel in the Philippines, and how the money moves

Manila and Cebu have JCI-accredited hospitals, a large dental and cosmetic sector and English-speaking staff, which draws patients from Guam, the Pacific islands, the Gulf and the Filipino diaspora. Payments usually run between a facilitator, an insurer, an employer's HMO or a referring clinic and the hospital. Storspay pays the hospital or clinic in pesos the same day, with the patient's name and the billing reference attached.

Deposit, treatment, final bill

Add the hospital once as a recipient. Pay the deposit with the estimate number and the patient's name in the reference; when the final bill comes, pay the balance the same way. A facilitator with several patients in treatment pays all the hospitals in one batch and files one statement; each hospital sees its own credits with its own references.

If you are the hospital or clinic

Hospitals and clinics with referring partners abroad can send a Storspay payment request for the deposit and the final bill, and the partner pays it from their balance. Collecting from partners in North America, the UK, Europe and Africa is live today; getting paid from the Philippines itself is not yet.

Documents, tax IDs and what the recipient's bank may ask

Inbound business payments to the Philippines are straightforward: the recipient's bank sees a domestic peso credit, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rules on foreign-currency inflows are handled before the money reaches the local rail. A Filipino contractor or agency will usually invoice with its TIN and, for registered businesses, its BIR registration; keep those with the Storspay receipt. Contractors are responsible for their own income tax; if you are paying employees of a registered Philippine entity rather than contractors, that entity runs payroll and withholding locally.

How a payment to the Philippines works on Storspay

1. Fund your balance in USD (ACH or wire), CAD (Interac e-Transfer or EFT), GBP (UK bank transfer) or EUR (SEPA) — to account details in your own business name. Funding is free.
2. Add the recipient once: their name as it appears on the account, the bank (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, UnionBank, Landbank, Security Bank, RCBC and the other BSP-supervised banks) and the account number. Storspay checks the account name before you confirm.
3. Type the amount in either box. Enter what you want to send and see the pesos that land, or type the pesos figure on the invoice and see what it costs you. The rate is the mid-market rate; the 1% is on its own line.
4. Confirm. The money goes over InstaPay or PESONet and usually lands within minutes — the same business day at most. The recipient gets a notification with the exact amount, and you get a receipt with the invoice reference.

Nobody in the Philippines has to sign up, install an app or touch anything other than their own bank account. Everything on the recipient side looks like an ordinary domestic transfer.

What it costs

Storspay charges 1% all-in on payments to the Philippines, with a minimum of US$2, at the mid-market rate. That one line covers conversion, settlement and delivery; there is no FX markup, no intermediary-bank charge and nothing deducted on the recipient side.

Rates in this guide are the mid-market rate on the day of writing (1 USD = 62.8267 PHP); the calculator on the homepage shows today's. Large payments are split automatically under the local channel cap, under one reference and one fee.

See what your team in the Philippines receives →

Questions businesses ask before the first payment to the Philippines

Can a patient pay their own bill through Storspay?

Storspay is for organisations — facilitators, insurers, employers, clinics. A patient paying personally should ask the hospital's international desk which methods it accepts.

Does the hospital need a Storspay account?

No. It receives a domestic credit in pesos to its existing bank account, with the patient reference you typed.

What if the final bill is lower than the deposit?

The hospital refunds the difference on its side as it would for any patient. Storspay payments are final once sent, so pay the deposit the hospital asks for and settle the balance against the final bill.

Can you pay GCash or Maya?

Not yet — Storspay pays Philippine bank accounts today, and e-wallets are on the roadmap. Most GCash and Maya users also hold a BDO, BPI, UnionBank or Landbank account.

How fast does a peso payment land?

Usually within minutes through InstaPay; larger amounts may route through PESONet and land the same business day.

Does the contractor pay anything on their side?

No. You pay 1% all-in (minimum US$2); the contractor receives the peso amount shown. Their bank does not charge for an incoming domestic credit.

Who this is for — and who it is not for

Storspay is for businesses and organisations: companies, agencies, schools, hospitals, facilitators, foundations and sole traders paying other businesses and professionals for work, goods and services. A sole trader counts as a business and signs up in their own name.

What Storspay is not is a personal money-transfer service. We do not open personal accounts, and every payment has to be a business transaction: an invoice, a contract, a fee note, work delivered. Money to family and personal transfers are not what this is, and we would rather say so now than at verification.