Using DBS to Remit to the Philippines for Free!

DBS is having a promotion to basically introduce their remittance service by making the transfer free of charge. Woot woot!

Since this is just a promotion, it won’t last but i did contact DBS support and (at the time of this writing) there is no announced expiration yet. For now, we can enjoy this feature.

Here are the steps, making extensive use of screencaps:

1. Log in to DBS internet banking
(sorry, i won’t put the dbs link here.. since i hate phishing)

*have your OTP device ready

2. Click on Funds Transfer (Overseas) –> DBS Philippines Remit –> Add Payee / Send Money Overseas

3. Fill up the “New Recipient” form, as usual.
Follow the page below and adjust based on your details:

Some notes when filling up: 
- It’s recommended to put in the complete name and address (with zip code) when filling up the Recipient information
- Check your PH bank statements or their online statements to verify the account number
- In Payment Instructions, the “Amount (in above mentioned currency)” should be in Peso, if it’s not clear enough. This is the Peso amount you want to remit. You will be given the computed SGD value later.

4. Double-check the details, click on the 2 checkboxes and click Submit.

5. Follow the instructions in the next page, making use of your DBS OTP device.

6. Click Confirm
You’ll get the confirmation page like the following.
All you have to do now is wait (around 1-2 business days).

 

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When remitting a second time for the same recipient, simply follow the same steps but in Step 3, select the saved recipient info instead of ‘New Recipient’.

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IMPORTANT:

This remittance isn’t immediate. You’d have to wait 1-2 business days.
The amount won’t get debited from your DBS account immediately after this transaction either. You’ll notice your DBS account still contains the same value right after doing this – that’s expected. It will get automatically deducted later, when DBS has confirmed it. You should receive an SMS when it successfully got remitted.

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Personally, i’m still using PNB Online Remittance on some transactions. DBS has the convenience of easier remittance and having all your transactions recorded in one place. However, i still like that the amount is debited immediately from my DBS account. It doesn’t mean it got immediately remitted but i still like it that i could already cross it out from my budget file (yeah, surprisingly, i do have a budget file). Besides i prefer the transfer to be computed in SGD first.

That’s all folks, have a nice day!