Our Apologies

Our sincere apologies to all of you who were keeping up with our Padala Updates and with OnlinePhilippines.net. Sorry, but due to some error (not on our part), we lost the domain name OnlinePhilippines.net. We were trying to transfer the domain name to another registrar (from GoDaddy to Name.com), but someone fouled up in their advice and got us hanging in limbo for a long while. Eventually, we lost the domain name.

But nothing can stop us. Let's get on with helping you send your money where it ought to go. So here...we blog about how to send money to the Philippines without getting ripped off by banks and remittance companies. It's possible. Watch out for succeeding blogs and links to get you where you want to be.

Issue 7 -- World Without Filipinos : An Article About Filipino Overseas Workers

OFW-Connect
Recieved by Email From: “Rachelle C. Garcia, M.D."

Everybody is special, regardless of whatever nationality we are. All that we have and our status at this moment are all just “borrowed” and gifts given to us at no cost. What is unimaginable is a “world without HIM” which is indescribably chaotic and dim….

The article below is worth sharing - how special we Filipinos are and the important role we play in other people’s lives.

World Without Filipinos
Let’s imagine not just California, but the entire world, waking up one day to discover Filipinos have disappeared. I’m talking here about the six or seven million Filipinos currently working overseas in countries with names that run the entire alphabet, from Angola to Zimbabwe. Let’s not worry
first about why or how the Filipinos disappeared; in fact, it becomes academic whether it’s a day or a week. Just imagine a world without Filipinos. More...

Update on MoneyGram Services
MoneyGram has launched a new Economy Service with lower remittance fees. The minimum fee is $10. Same Day Service is still available at a higher fee of $14 minimum. With the new Economy Service, remittances are available for pick up by your recipient in 3 US banking days. Funding your remittance is easy with the use of ACH (automated clearing house) -- direct from your bank account -- or by credit card. For more information, visit www.moneygram.com.

PhilPay Prepares to Launch NetCash Service
PhilPay is now preparing to launch a new service called NetCash. The idea is to bridge the gap for Filipinos who want to buy online at international websites through out the world. PhilPay caters to Filipino buyers without international credit cards or who don't have access to many online payment processors that allow them to transact in hundreds of different websites.

Issue 6 -- Employment Visa Processing To Be Suspended

Jun 19, 2005 - OFW Guide
Bad news is coming in quick succession for Filipinos and other foreign workers who intend to enter the US via employment-based immigration.

Just when things couldn’t possibly get worse for them, the Department of State announced in its July 2005 Visa Bulletin that visa numbers in the employment-based third preference (EB-3) and “other worker” categories will no longer be available for all countries for the rest of fiscal year 2005.

PROCESSING STOPS JULY 1

This means the Department of State would have to suspend immigrant visa processing for these categories starting July 1.

Those who are eligible to file for adjustment of status should file their I-140 and I-485 application before that date in order to avail of the benefits of adjustment, including work authorization.

The backlog reduction efforts of the Immigration Service have triggered the depletion of the visa number allocation for 2005 so that even if the numbers will become available for the succeeding fiscal year, retrogression would likely be imposed.

The EB-3 category refers to skilled workers and professionals like teachers, accountants, engineers and computer programmers. The “other worker” category refers to general houseworkers, home attendants, adult companions, and other unskilled workers. More...

YesPinoy -- Latest Agency Reviewed
YesPinoy is the latest agency that we have included in our reviews site. You may want to check it out at OnlinePhilippines. In addition, we have received a letter from YesPinoy. Here's an excerpt from that letter:

Many thanks for putting details about us (YESPinoy.com) on your site. As a direct result of your constructive comments we have made some changes to the site. We have also reduced the send money fee to 6%. In the next few weeks we will be adding the ability to load UnionBank EON cards which can be used in ATMs world wide. Although our head office is in Hong Kong, the development and support is provided by our office in Makati. Because our support team is here in the Philippines, we are able to provide a personalized service to those that use our send money service. ...the remitters overseas are put at ease knowing that we are assisting their family and friends they send their hard earned money to.

Thanks to YesPinoy for keeping us updated.

Update on RemitHome Services
Here's an excerpt from a letter we received from RemitHome:

Thank you for consistently keeping our kababayans informed of the many options they have these days for sending money back home to the Philippines. We are delighted that you have placed remithome in your Top 5 remittance agencies, and in the recent months, for ranking us number one.

We noticed a couple of minor details on your web site regarding remithome’s service that needs correction and once again, we would like to give you some clarifications directly.

remithome does have a way for customers to track their remittances online by logging into their remithome account. Onlinephilippines currently has this “Tracking” feature marked with an X for remithome.

Under Fee By Delivery Method – for security reasons, we currently do not offer door-to-door delivery of US Dollars. At this time, US Dollar transactions are available for direct deposit into a USD account in the Philippines only. Your web site indicates that we deliver USD door-to-door, which is currently not the case.

We hope this clarifies remithome’s services. More power and support to your web site. You provide a great service!

We've made the corrections.

Now We're Blogging!
Have you ever found our PadalaUpdates in your bulk or spam folder? That's the dilemma of many newsletters. Because even if you subscribe to a newsletter like ours, you're not sure to get your newsletter. Your ISP's or email's spam filter might be working against us. So, we've decide to blog. At our new blogsite, you'll get the same newsletter plus more. And if you have a feedreader or RSS reader, you can have this newsletter delivered right to your desktop. Just add our RSS page http://padalaupdates.blogspot.com/atom.xml to your feed reader.

PhilPay Launches Suki Merchant Service
PhilPay recently launched its latest service feature -- Suki Merchant Service. If you're a Filipino and have the knack for doing online business, here's your chance to sell to a huge international e-market. By using PhilPay, you can sell items online or auction them on eBay and have your money deposited to your Philippine bank or transferred to your Globe cellphone. No fees charged to your buyer! Check it out at PhilPay.

Project Philip for Missionaries
Two months ago, PhilPay did a soft-launch of its service feature for missions and missionaries -- Project Philip. If you wish to or are currently sending regular financial support to a mission or missionary in the Philippines, Philpay offers the lowest fees and the highest exchange rate. Check it out at Project Philip.

Ruel Guerrero
OnlinePhilippines.net

OFW Remittances In March 2005 Post Double-Digit Growth Anew

Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers coursed through commercial banks grew by 15.9 percent to US$840 million in March 2005. This brought the cumulative cash remittances for the first quarter to US$2.3 billion, or a growth of 16.6 percent from the comparable level a year-ago. This rate of growth exceeds the expected growth of 10 percent to US$9.4 billion in 2005.
(From Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas News, more...)

PhilSend -- Latest Agency Reviewed
PhilSend is the latest agency we have on review. On the front page you will be welcomed by an excellent quick calculator. You don't even need to press the "Calculate Now" button. Just click anywhere on the calculator form. However, what isn't clear to me is how the 2.3% card payment surcharge figures in.
Good news though for those who are uncomfortable giving out their SSN information. On PhilSend you can just send in your driver's license information instead. PhilSend accepts card or ACH payments. ACH is recommended to avoid the 2.3% surcharge for card payments.


Vote for Your Favorite Remittance Agency
Now you can vote and rate your favorite remittance agency. All you have to do is click on the link "Vote", which you will find under the top 5 agencies of our comparison tables. To vote now, just proceed to our Comparison Tables.

Now we're blogging!
Have you ever found our PadalaUpdates in your bulk or spam folder? That's the dilemma of many newsletters. Because even if you subscribe to a newsletter like ours, you're not sure to get your newsletter. Your ISP's or email's spam filter might be working against us. So, we've decide to blog. At our new blogsite, you'll get the same newsletter plus more. And if you have a feedreader or RSS reader, you can have this newsletter delivered right to your desktop. Just add our RSS page http://padalaupdates.blogspot.com/atom.xml.

PhilPay Helps Overseas Filipinos Sell on eBay Philippines



PhilPay 's latest program is it's Merchant Program. If you're an overseas Filipino and have the knack for doing online business, here's your chance to sell to a growing Philippine e-market. By using PhilPay, you can sell items online or auction them on eBay Philippines and have your money sent to your US address by check, money order, or PayPal. No fees charged to your buyer! Check it out at PhilPay.

Did You Know You Could Save on Your Remittance?

Did you know that you could save up to Php1,884 (or up to $35) in remittance fees (and exchange rate) just by choosing the right remittance agency? Yes, sending a $400 remittance to your family in the Philippines may cost you up to $35 more when sending thru Agency Z compared to Agency A! It really pays to shop around. That's why we came up with OnlinePhilippines.net -- your one-stop guide and reviews site on online remittance agencies. Check us out at OnlinePhilippines and start saving on your remittances. The money you save today could be your family's food tomorrow.

D2D Station Serves OFW needs



Exhorbitant fees, low exchange rates, complicated procedures, and the long wait for your money to reach your love ones -- some of the reasons why sending money to the Philippines has become a miserable and distressing activity for many OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) around the world.

But with D2D Station all your miseries are over. Global Express Cargo Enterprise, a New Jersey based remittance company and cargo handler bound for the Philippines, marks another innovation in remittance industry when it launched its website www.d2dstation.com. It has all the features OFWs are looking for in a remittance company: Low fees, high exchange rate, easy to use, secured, trusted, and comes with a remittance status tracker and a fee calculator. One great feature about D2D Station is that it can credit your remittance to your beneficiary’s bank of choice in a matter of hours. So there's no need for your beneficiary to line up and present his or her IDs to pick up the remittance.

Another service OFWs can look forward to is D2D Station’s Pasalubong & Gift Section. It offers a wide variety of personal gifts suitable for every occasion. Visit D2D Station at www.d2dstation.com and experience personalized service unmatched in the industry.

Average Comparative Index (Ave CI) -- How it helps you

You've probably seen the term "Average Comparative Index" on one of our pages, especially on our tabulated comparison pages. Well, here's what it means. At OnlinePhilippines we took the exchange rates and all fees into consideration, and we tested how much a recipient in the Philippines would receive if we sent $100 and $400 to. We then took the results and divided them by the amount of remittance. Then we averaged the results -- coming out with the Average Comparative Index. So, if all you wanted was to get the most for your remittance money, all you need to do is find the highest Ave CI and that's it!

Now we're blogging!

Have you ever found our PadalaUpdates in your bulk or spam folder? That's the dilemma of many newsletters. Because even if you subscribe to a newsletter like ours, you're not sure to get your newsletter. Your ISP's or email's spam filter might be working against us. So, we've decide to blog. At our new blogsite, you'll get the same newsletter plus more. And if you have a feedreader or RSS reader, you can have this newsletter delivered right to your desktop. Just add our RSS page http://padalaupdates.blogspot.com/atom.xml.

PhilPay Helps Overseas Filipinos Sell on eBay Philippines




PhilPay has just come out with its latest program, it's Merchant Program. If you're an overseas Filipino and have the knack for doing online business, here's your chance to sell to a growing Philippine e-market. By using PhilPay, you can sell items online or auction them on eBay Philippines and have your money sent to your US address by check, money order, or PayPal. No fees charged to your buyer! Check it out at PhilPay.