Paying tuition to universities and schools in the Philippines: a guide for education agents, sponsors and scholarship programmes

Short answer. An institution in the Philippines issues a fee note in pesos with the student's admission number. The organisation paying it — an education agent, an employer sponsoring a scholarship, a foundation, a government scholarship office — pays that exact figure to the institution's bank account through Storspay at the mid-market rate for 1% all-in, with the student's name and admission number as the reference, and the bursar sees a domestic credit that matches the fee note, usually within minutes.

Who pays fees in the Philippines, and why wires fail them

Philippine universities, nursing and medical schools, maritime academies and international schools enrol students from across ASEAN, South Asia, East Africa and the Pacific, and English-language instruction makes Manila, Cebu and Baguio popular with sponsored students. Fees are paid in pesos to the institution's bank account with the student number as the reference, usually by an education agent, a sponsoring employer, a government scholarship office or a foundation. Storspay is built for those organisations and for the schools collecting from them.

How a fee payment runs on Storspay

Add the institution once as a recipient (its registered name, bank and account number — Storspay verifies the name). For each student, type the pesos figure on the fee note and put the student's name and admission or invoice number in the reference. A scholarship office paying thirty students pays them in one batch and downloads one statement; each student's fee is its own credit on the institution's side.

If you are the institution

Schools and universities with sponsors in North America, the UK, Europe or Africa can send a Storspay payment request instead of chasing a wire: the sponsor pays, and the institution's Storspay balance is credited. Getting paid from the Philippines itself is not live yet; collecting from sponsors abroad is. See Get paid.

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 family use Storspay to pay their child's fees?

Storspay is for businesses and organisations. A family business can pay from its business account with the student named on the reference; a family paying from a personal account should ask the school or its agent whether they accept Storspay through their own account.

Does the institution need a Storspay account?

No. It receives an ordinary domestic credit in pesos to its existing bank account, with the student reference you typed.

Can I schedule the next instalment?

Yes. Scheduled payments run on the date you set from your balance, with the same reference, and you get a receipt each time.

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.