Sending Money Home: Why the Fee Is Not the Cost
Cross-agency · money
Quick answer
No government agency publishes remittance rates, and this site does not rank providers. What matters mechanically is that the advertised fee is usually smaller than the exchange rate margin, so compare what the recipient actually receives rather than the headline fee.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from Cross-agency's official published sources: TIEZA | Full Travel Tax (https://tieza.gov.ph/full-travel-tax/, retrieved 2026-09-01); TIEZA | Reduced Travel Tax (https://tieza.gov.ph/reduced-travel-tax/, retrieved 2026-09-01); Bureau of Customs | Balikbayan Box Guidelines (https://customs.gov.ph/balikbayan-box-guidelines/, retrieved 2026-09-01); National Bureau of Investigation | Citizen's Charter Handbook 2025 (1st Edition) (https://nbi.gov.ph/uploads/2025/04/2025-CITIZENS-CHARTER-HANDBOOK-1st-EDITION.pdf, retrieved 2026-08-31); PNP NPCS | How to Apply for a National Police Clearance (https://pnpclearance.ph/how_to_apply_v2.pdf, retrieved 2026-09-01). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with Cross-agency before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-09-01.
This page does not rank remittance providers, and it states no rates. No government agency publishes them, none of the agencies covered on this site administers remittance, and recommending financial products is outside what this site does.
What it can do is explain the arithmetic, because the arithmetic is where most people lose money.
The fee is the smaller half
A remittance carries two charges, and only one of them is advertised.
| Charge | How it appears |
|---|---|
| Fixed fee | Advertised, in pesos or the sending currency |
| Exchange rate margin | Usually not presented as a charge at all. It is the gap between the rate you are quoted and the mid-market rate |
A “zero fee” transfer is not free if the rate carries a margin. A transfer with a visible fee can easily be cheaper than one without.
How to compare properly
Compare what the recipient receives, not what you are charged.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fix the send amount, the ranking changes with it |
| 2 | Subtract each provider’s fixed fee from that amount |
| 3 | Apply each provider’s actual quoted rate, not the mid-market rate |
| 4 | Compare the peso figures the recipient ends up with |
| 5 | Repeat at the amount you actually send, not a round number |
Step 5 matters because a fixed fee dominates on small transfers and a rate margin dominates on large ones. The cheapest provider for ₱5,000.00 is often not the cheapest for ₱50,000.00.
Worked: what a rate margin actually costs
Illustrative arithmetic, not any provider’s rates. Say the mid-market rate is ₱58.00 to the dollar and you are sending USD $500.00.
| Provider | Fixed fee | Rate offered | Recipient receives |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, “zero fee” | USD $0.00 | ₱56.26 (3% margin) | ₱28,130.00 |
| B, visible fee | USD $5.00 | ₱57.42 (1% margin) | ₱28,425.90 |
| C: higher fee, no margin | USD $10.00 | ₱58.00 (0% margin) | ₱28,420.00 |
Provider A advertises no fee and delivers the least. Provider B, with a USD $5.00 fee, delivers ₱295.90 more than A. Provider C charges twice B’s fee and still beats A by ₱290.00.
At USD $2,000.00 on the same rates the ordering changes again, because the fixed fees stay flat while the margins scale fourfold:
| Provider | Recipient receives | Against the best |
|---|---|---|
| A, 3% margin | ₱112,520.00 | ₱3,480.00 less |
| B, 1% margin plus USD $5.00 | ₱114,553.20 | ₱1,446.80 less |
| C, 0% margin plus USD $10.00 | ₱115,420.00 | best |
The provider that wins at USD $500.00 is not the one that wins at USD $2,000.00. That is the whole reason to compare at your real amount.
The calculator
The remittance comparison calculator does this arithmetic on figures you supply: an amount, today’s mid-market rate, and a fee and margin for up to three providers. It ranks them on what the recipient receives and shows how far behind the best option each one falls.
It carries no provider names and no rates, for the reason above, you type in what you are quoted.
What the government side does cost
The transfer itself is private. Everything around it is published, and these are the sourced figures.
| Item | Published fee | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Travel tax, economy | ₱1,620.00 | Full rate |
| Travel tax, first class | ₱2,700.00 | Full rate |
| Travel tax, OFW | ₱0.00 | Exempt under PD 1183 |
| Travel tax, OFW dependent, economy | ₱300.00 | Privileged reduced |
| OWWA membership | USD $25.00 | Valid to contract end or 2 years |
| DMW Balik-Manggagawa OEC | None | - |
| OEC | Valid 60 days, single exit | - |
| Balikbayan box | Exempt to ₱150,000.00, 3 times a year | Qualified Filipinos While Abroad |
| NBI clearance | ₱160.00 all-in | - |
| National Police Clearance | ₱150.00 plus a convenience fee | Valid 6 months |
| PSA birth certificate, viewable online | ₱130.00 | Valid 60 days |
| Seafarer’s Record Book | ₱1,000.00 | - |
Two of those are worth more than most remittance savings. Travel tax exemption is worth ₱1,620.00 per economy trip, and a qualifying balikbayan box avoids roughly ₱34,800.00 in duty and VAT at illustrative rates on a ₱150,000.00 shipment.
What this page does not cover
No provider names, no fees, no exchange rates, no margins, no ranking, and no recommendation. None of that is published by an agency this site sources from, so none of it appears here. Every figure that does appear on this page is a government fee from another agency, cited above, none of it is a remittance rate.
Related
The balikbayan box guide covers sending goods rather than money. The travel tax guide covers the departure cost.
Frequently asked questions
- Which remittance provider is cheapest?
- This page does not rank providers, and no government agency publishes their rates. What it can tell you is how to compare them: look at what the recipient receives, not at the advertised fee.
- Why is the advertised fee misleading?
- Because it is only one of two charges. The other is the margin between the provider's exchange rate and the mid-market rate, which is not usually presented as a fee at all. A zero-fee transfer can still cost more than a transfer with a fee.
- What is the mid-market rate?
- The midpoint between what the market is buying and selling a currency at. It is the reference rate a margin is measured against. A provider quoting a rate below it is charging you the difference.
- How do I compare two providers properly?
- Take the same send amount to both, subtract each fixed fee, apply each provider's actual rate, and compare the peso amount the recipient ends up with. The larger number wins, regardless of which had the lower fee.
- Does this site have a calculator for it?
- Yes. The remittance comparison calculator takes an amount, the mid-market rate, and a fee and margin for up to three providers, and ranks them on what the recipient receives. It carries no provider names and no rates, you supply those.
- Do any of the agencies on this site publish remittance rates?
- No. Remittance is not administered by any of the agencies covered here, which is why this page carries no sourcing band and states no figures.
- What does the government publish that is related?
- The costs around sending money home rather than the sending itself: travel tax, OWWA membership, the OEC, and the balikbayan box exemption. Those are covered on this site and are sourced.
- Should I use a bank or a remittance service?
- This page does not recommend. Run the same comparison across whichever options you have, on the amount you actually send, since the ranking changes with the amount.
More cross-agency guides
Sources
- TIEZA | Full Travel Tax, retrieved
- TIEZA | Reduced Travel Tax, retrieved
- Bureau of Customs | Balikbayan Box Guidelines, retrieved
- National Bureau of Investigation | Citizen's Charter Handbook 2025 (1st Edition), retrieved
- PNP NPCS | How to Apply for a National Police Clearance, retrieved