Sending money from Australia to the Philippines: the payments stack

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 29 October 2026

What it costs to send AUD 200

The World Bank surveyed 34 services sending from Australia to the Philippines from 18 August 2025 to 3 September 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 2.61% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 2.49% and banks 6.49%. source

Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.

The send side: Australia

• Remittance service providers and virtual asset service providers must both enrol with AUSTRAC and apply for registration through AUSTRAC Online, and cannot start providing remittance or virtual asset services until AUSTRAC approves the registration. source
• AUSTRAC registers independent remittance dealers, remittance network providers, remittance network provider affiliates and virtual asset service providers; AUSTRAC can take up to 90 days to assess an application, and the 90 days restart when it asks for more information. source
• Registration lasts 3 years; a renewal can be lodged from 90 days before expiry, and a registration that is not renewed lapses and is removed from the register. source

Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from Australia.

The payout side: the Philippines

Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Philippines: launching payments in Philippines.

Payout rails in Philippines

Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027

Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 6 dates when Australia is closed and the Philippines is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 17 dates when Philippines is closed, instant rails may still pay out.

Full calendars: Australia and Philippines. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.

Funding the corridor

• NPP payments settle in the Fast Settlement Service 24 hours a day on every day of the year, so AUD collections can arrive on weekends and holidays. source
• All other RITS settlement runs only on days when banks are open in Sydney or Melbourne, from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm AEST/AEDT, and closes on weekends and on New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the King's Birthday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day where observed in NSW and Victoria. source
• Interbank USD/PHP spot trades settle T+1 and only BSP-authorised universal and commercial banks that are BAP members trade in that market, so pesos bought on the last banking day before a weekend or holiday arrive after it. source
• PhilPaSSplus is open only 9:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on weekdays and settles InstaPay and PESONet clearing results, so interbank settlement of those payments waits for PhilPaSSplus to open. source
• PESONet instructions sent after the 4 p.m. cut-off fall into the next window, which closes at 10 a.m. and credits beneficiaries by 1 p.m.; banks and payout providers set earlier cut-offs (Xendit and Nium use 2 p.m. Manila time). source

Running the corridor

Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in Australia, the payout partners and banks in Philippines and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Philippines balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.

Related corridors

• Australia to China
• Australia to India
• Australia to Indonesia
• Australia to Pakistan
• Australia to Sri Lanka
• Australia to Thailand
• Australia to Vietnam
• Australia to Zimbabwe
• Canada to Philippines
• Italy to Philippines
• Qatar to Philippines
• Saudi Arabia to Philippines

Sources

1. World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
2. RITS Business Hours · Reserve Bank of Australia
3. Public and Bank Holidays 2026 · Reserve Bank of Australia
4. LIST: Holidays, special non-working days for 2027 · Philippine Daily Inquirer
5. Palace releases 2026 Philippine holidays · GMA News