What a US$10,000 payment to the Philippines really costs: bank wire vs Wise vs Storspay

Short answer. On a US$10,000 payment in the Philippines, a bank wire typically delivers about ₱590,571 once the sending fee, the correspondent-bank cut and the receiving bank's FX spread are counted. Storspay charges US$100 (1%) and delivers ₱621,984 at the mid-market rate — about ₱31,413 more in the recipient's account — and it lands the same day instead of three to five days later.

Where the money goes on a wire

A wire to the Philippines has four costs and only one of them is printed on the confirmation: your bank's outgoing fee (US$25–45), the correspondent bank's lifting fee (US$15–30, deducted in transit), the receiving bank's inward charge, and — the big one — the FX spread, usually 2–4% below the mid-market rate, applied at a rate you did not see when you sent. Add them up and 5–7% of the payment is gone, which on US$10,000 is US$500–700.

Why a consumer transfer app is not the answer for a business

Consumer transfer apps charge less than banks — on a US$100 send to the Philippines you might pay around 1.5% all-in — and their rate is close to mid-market. But they are built for one person sending to one person: no batch payroll from a business balance, no invoice reference on every line, no receipt a bookkeeper can file, and many will not onboard a platform or an agency that pays third parties at all.

What Storspay does differently

One business balance funded in USD, CAD, GBP or EUR; one 1% line at the mid-market rate; the exact pesos figure shown before you confirm; a batch for the whole team; a receipt with the invoice reference on every payment. The same balance pays Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico and 26 other countries at 2%, so a company with a mixed team runs one payroll, not four.

What is different about the Philippines

The Philippines is the world's second-largest BPO market and the home of the virtual assistant: millions of Filipinos are paid every fortnight by companies in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. They are used to being paid to a BDO, BPI or UnionBank account by InstaPay in minutes — and to losing several per cent of each payment to the platform or the bank in between. Storspay delivers pesos at the mid-market rate with the 1% shown separately, and a fortnightly run for a whole team is one batch, one fee line, one receipt.

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

Is 1% really the whole cost?

Yes. The rate is the mid-market rate and the 1% (minimum US$2) is the only line. The recipient's bank does not charge for a domestic credit; if they ask their bank for an export certificate, that bank may charge its own small fee.

What rate do you use?

The mid-market rate at the moment you confirm, locked for that payment and printed on the receipt. The calculator on the homepage shows the live rate.

How does Storspay compare on a US$500 payment?

The 1% is US$5 — above the US$2 minimum — and the recipient gets ₱31,099. A wire's fixed fees alone would eat 10% of a payment that size.

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.