Banking and paying in the Philippines: cash, a dollar account and 20% on your interest
You may bring at most ₱ 50,000 in pesos in cash into or out of the Philippines without permission from the central bank. Foreign currency is unlimited, but above US$ 10,000 you declare it. Anyone may open a foreign currency account at a designated bank. Since July 2025, 20% tax comes off interest from a Philippine bank; interest from your Dutch bank is not taxed by the Philippines.
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You may bring at most ₱ 50,000 (≈ € 715) in pesos in cash into or out of the Philippines without permission from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank. Foreign currency, such as euros or dollars, you may bring without limit. But if you carry more than US$ 10,000 (≈ € 8,910), or the equivalent in another currency, you declare it in writing. Anyone may open a foreign currency account at a bank designated for that purpose.
What applies to money and accounts?
| What | Rule |
|---|---|
| Pesos in or out | at most ₱ 50,000 without written permission from the BSP |
| Euros, dollars and other foreign currency | no maximum; above US$ 10,000 declare it with a Foreign Currency Declaration |
| Foreign currency account | anyone, at a designated bank |
| Interest from a Philippine bank | 20% tax, withheld directly |
| Interest from your Dutch bank | not taxed in the Philippines |
| Dividend from a Philippine company | 10% tax, withheld directly |
What cash do you bring?
Few pesos. The ₱ 50,000 limit has applied since 15 September 2016 (BSP Circular 922); before that it was ₱ 10,000. Euros or dollars you may bring as much as you like. The declaration above US$ 10,000 also applies to cheques and traveller's cheques.
If you carry more than ₱ 50,000 without written permission from the BSP, Philippine customs may confiscate the amount above the limit. So change money only after arrival, and for large amounts rather use a transfer.
Which account do you open?
An ordinary peso account you use for rent, bills and groceries. In addition, under the Foreign Currency Deposit Act you may open an account in foreign currency, for example in dollars or euros. It is called an FCDU account, after the bank unit that handles foreign currency. The law says: "any person, natural or juridical", so a foreign national too.
What a bank asks of you is up to the bank. We found no law saying you must have an ACR I-Card, the alien registration card. Bring your passport, and ask in advance which documents the bank wants to see. See registration and numbers.
What about the SRRV deposit?
For the SRRV, the retirement visa, you transfer the deposit from a bank abroad to a bank approved by the Philippine Retirement Authority. The PRA lists DBP, PNB, BDO (certain branches only), KEB Hana, Unionbank, Bank of Commerce and Shinhan. If you want a private bank, you first need a letter of introduction from the PRA. The deposit is US$ 15,000 to US$ 50,000; see the residence routes.
What do you pay on your interest?
Since the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act, in force from 1 July 2025, 20% tax comes off interest on a bank account "from any currency". So that includes a dollar account. The bank withholds it directly. Savings products from before 1 July 2025 keep the old rate until they mature.
Interest from your Dutch bank is not taxed by the Philippines. A foreign national there pays tax only on income from Philippine sources. For your Dutch savings you therefore look mainly at the Netherlands: see AOW, pension and tax.
How does your money come in?
Your AOW goes with you to the Philippines in full. You can have it paid into a Dutch account and transfer what you need yourself. If you keep a Dutch account, read keeping your bank account and DigiD. Count on paying from your Dutch account for the first weeks, with a card that works abroad.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.6: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to the Philippines or go straight to step 5.6 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Philippine Embassy in Berlin — bringing cash in and out, ₱ 50,000 and US$ 10,000 — philippine-embassy.de
- Philippine Embassy in Tokyo — the increase to ₱ 50,000 (BSP Circular 922 of 2016) — tokyo.philembassy.net
- Foreign Currency Deposit Act (RA 6426), section 2 — anyone may deposit foreign currency with a designated bank — lawphil.net
- Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (RA 12214), section 24(B) — 20% on interest and 10% on dividends — lawphil.net
- National Internal Revenue Code, section 23(D) — a foreign national pays tax only on Philippine income — lawphil.net
- Philippine Retirement Authority — the SRRV, with the banks for the deposit — pra.gov.ph
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