Sending money from the United Kingdom to the Philippines: the payments stack
Sending GBP 120 from the United Kingdom to the Philippines cost 3.33% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 38 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Philippines typically run over InstaPay, InstaPay for Business; between now and the end of 2027 there are 10 weekdays when banks in the United Kingdom are closed but Philippines keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 3.33% of GBP 120 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 3.13% across 34 services |
| Banks | 5.04% across 4 services |
| Collect in United Kingdom | Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs (Direct Credit and Direct Debit) |
| Pay out in Philippines | InstaPay, InstaPay for Business, PESONet, PhilPaSSplus (RTGS) |
What it costs to send GBP 120
The World Bank surveyed 38 services sending from the United Kingdom to the Philippines from 8 August 2025 to 1 September 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 3.33% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 3.13% and banks 5.04%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United Kingdom
- Money remittance and the execution of credit transfers and direct debits are payment services under the Payment Services Regulations 2017; a firm providing them must be an authorised payment institution or a small payment institution unless it is already another type of payment service provider or is exempt. Issuing e-money requires authorisation or registration under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. source
- Initial capital for an authorised payment institution is 20,000 euros for money remittance only, 50,000 euros for payment initiation and 125,000 euros for the services in paragraphs 1(a) to (e) of Schedule 1, such as executing payment transactions (PSRs 2017, Schedule 3). source
- An authorised e-money institution needs initial capital of at least 350,000 euros; a small e-money institution with average outstanding e-money of 500,000 euros or more holds at least 2% of that amount (EMRs 2011, Schedule 2). source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United Kingdom.
The payout side: the Philippines
| Payout partner | What it does in Philippines | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunes · our guide | Pays to Philippine bank accounts, to wallets including Coins, GCash, GrabPay and PayMaya, and to cash pickup (Thunes, August 2024). | source |
| Nium · our guide | Pays PHP to bank accounts at all major Philippine banks (InstaPay real time up to PHP 50,000, PESONet same day for instructions by 2 p.m.), to wallets, to cards via Visa Direct and as cash payout. | source |
| dLocal · our guide | Supports payouts in the Philippines by bank transfer and to wallets such as PayMaya, GCash, Coins, GrabPay and PalawanPay. | source |
| Xendit | Pays out PHP over InstaPay (about 15 minutes, PHP 50,000 limit) and PESONet (same day, 2 p.m. Manila cut-off, no limit) for B2B, B2C, C2B and C2C flows. | source |
| Coins.ph | Coins.ph Business offers APIs to collect through QR Ph and WebPay, disburse through InstaPay, and trade or embed crypto on and off ramps, with KYB onboarding. | source |
| TerraPay · our guide | Partnered with Raenest in February 2026 to provide local-currency payouts to freelancers in the Philippines and India. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Philippines: launching payments in Philippines.
Payout rails in Philippines
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| InstaPay | Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) under the BSP | Real-time transfers 24x7; Nium routes payouts of up to PHP 50,000 per transfer over InstaPay and larger ones over PESONet. | source |
| InstaPay for Business | Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) under the BSP | Launched 29 July 2026: businesses can send real-time transfers of up to PHP 500,000 per transaction, 24/7. Initial participants were PNB, Wise Pilipinas, DCPay Philippines, GoTyme Bank and RCBC, with 12 more signalling intent to join. | source |
| PESONet | Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI), authorised by the BSP | Batch transfers in full value with no network minimum or maximum, in three settlement windows with cut-offs at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Manila time; beneficiaries are credited by 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively, and each bank sets its own earlier cut-offs and channel limits. | source |
| PhilPaSSplus (RTGS) | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas | Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on weekdays and settles the clearing results of InstaPay, PESONet, cheques and ATMs; the BSP has proposed running it 22 hours a day, seven days a week. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 10 dates when the United Kingdom is closed and the Philippines is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 14 dates when Philippines is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United Kingdom | Philippines | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | Open | All Souls' Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 30 Nov 2026 | St Andrew's Day (Scotland only) | Bonifacio Day | Both closed |
| Tue 8 Dec 2026 | Open | Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 24 Dec 2026 | Open | Christmas Eve | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Christmas Day | Both closed |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Wed 30 Dec 2026 | Open | Rizal Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 | Open | Last Day of the Year | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Mon 4 Jan 2027 | 2nd January (substitute day, Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid'l Fitr | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 17 Mar 2027 | St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland only) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Mar 2027 | Open | Maundy Thursday | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | Good Friday | Both closed |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Fri 9 Apr 2027 | Open | Araw ng Kagitingan | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Early May bank holiday | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Spring bank holiday | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 12 Jul 2027 | Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland only) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 2 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday (Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 30 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday | National Heroes Day | Both closed |
| Mon 1 Nov 2027 | Open | All Saints' Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 2 Nov 2027 | Open | All Souls' Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 30 Nov 2027 | St Andrew's Day (Scotland only) | Bonifacio Day | Both closed |
| Wed 8 Dec 2027 | Open | Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 24 Dec 2027 | Open | Christmas Eve | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 27 Dec 2027 | Christmas Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 28 Dec 2027 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Thu 30 Dec 2027 | Open | Rizal Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 31 Dec 2027 | Open | Last Day of the Year | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
Full calendars: United Kingdom and Philippines. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Faster Payments is available to customers 24/7, but net settlement between participants takes place in the Bank of England RTGS system three times each business day. source
- CHAPS does not run on weekends or England and Wales bank holidays, and the customer payment deadline is 17:40, so any same-day sterling funding of an overseas account must be instructed before then. 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 United Kingdom, 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.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the United Kingdom to the Philippines?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending GBP 120 at 3.33% in Q3 2025, across 38 services. Money transfer operators averaged 3.13%.
Which rails pay out in Philippines?
Local payouts run over InstaPay, InstaPay for Business, PESONet, PhilPaSSplus (RTGS).
When do I need to prefund Philippines payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 10 weekdays when the United Kingdom is closed and the Philippines is open, the first on Mon 28 Dec 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- UK bank holidays (JSON feed) · GOV.UK
- UK bank holidays · GOV.UK
- LIST: Holidays, special non-working days for 2027 · Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Palace releases 2026 Philippine holidays · GMA News
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.