Sending money from the United States to the Philippines: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to the Philippines cost 4.52% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 58 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 States are closed but Philippines keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 4.52% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.28% across 54 services |
| Banks | 7.64% across 4 services |
| Collect in United States | FedNow Service, FedNow network limit, RTP network, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH and Same Day ACH, Same Day ACH limit |
| Pay out in Philippines | InstaPay, InstaPay for Business, PESONet, PhilPaSSplus (RTGS) |
| Corridor playbook | USD to PHP: funding and prefunding |
What it costs to send USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 58 services sending from the United States to the Philippines from 4 August 2025 to 21 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 4.52% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.28% and banks 7.64%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United States
- With few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Treasury through FinCEN by filing FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established, and must renew the registration every two years; a business that is an MSB only because it acts as agent of another MSB does not register. source
- Money transmission is also licensed state by state. As of September 2026, 31 states have enacted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, and money transmitters licensed in at least one adopting state account for 99% of reported money transmission activity. source
- The Money Transmission Modernization Act sets a minimum tangible net worth of the greater of US$100,000 or 3% of total assets for the first US$100 million, 2% of assets from US$100 million to US$1 billion and 0.5% of assets above US$1 billion, and encourages states to run licensing, surety bonds and reporting through NMLS. source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United States.
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 States is closed and the Philippines is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 18 dates when Philippines is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United States | Philippines | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | Open | All Souls' Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 30 Nov 2026 | Open | Bonifacio Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| 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 |
| 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 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid'l Fitr | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 25 Mar 2027 | Open | Maundy Thursday | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Open | Good Friday | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 9 Apr 2027 | Open | Araw ng Kagitingan | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Memorial Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 30 Aug 2027 | Open | National Heroes Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| 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 |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Philippines the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 30 Nov 2027 | Open | Bonifacio Day | Philippines banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| 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 |
| 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 States and Philippines. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Fedwire does not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays; the Monday business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and every business day closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with customer transfers cut off at 6:45 p.m. ET. source
- Federal Reserve holidays in the rest of 2026 are Veterans Day (11 November), Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas (Friday 25 December); in 2027, Juneteenth (19 June) and Christmas (25 December) fall on Saturdays, so the Reserve Banks open on the Friday before. 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 States, 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 States to the Philippines?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 4.52% in Q3 2025, across 58 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.28%.
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 States is closed and the Philippines is open, the first on Wed 11 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holiday Schedules (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 to 2030, plus FedACH holiday processing) · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- 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.