SWIFT/BIC codes in Philippines: banks starting with Q

SWIFT/BIC codes in Philippines

Our directory lists 411 banks and other institutions in Philippines. You need such a code mostly when making payments across borders and for payments in a foreign currency.

Each bank is listed with its own page with the head office code and if there are any, branch codes. Below the list you can read how codes from Philippines are built, how to send money to Philippines at a fair price and how to check a code before you pay.

The largest SWIFT network in Philippines: Asiatrust Bank

In our data, Asiatrust Bank holds the most SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in Philippines. The head office uses ATDBPHM1XXX.

Many codes usually means separate codes for branches, departments or services, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. Unless a branch code is given, the head office code ATDBPHM1XXX works for a payment to Asiatrust Bank.

How long does a transfer to Philippines take?

How fast a payment reaches Philippines is determined by several factors: which currency you send, the number of banks in between, daily processing deadlines and differences in time zone. Bank holidays in Philippines or in the sending country can add a day or more, because banks do not process payments on those days.

Many banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Every gpi transfer gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR that banks can use to see where the money is. Keep the payment confirmation – you will need it if something goes wrong.

The Philippine Peso (PHP) and conversion costs

Philippines pays in the Philippine Peso, with the currency code PHP. Money sent in a different currency will be exchanged into PHP, and whoever converts it chooses the rate.

Who does the conversion has an effect on how much arrives, since every bank sets its own rate. Check how much PHP the recipient gets with different services; the difference between options can be larger than you expect. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small difference in the rate adds up quickly.

Bank or transfer service for Philippines?

When you send money to Philippines via a regular bank, the fee you see is only part of what you pay. On top of a fixed fee, correspondent banks can deduct a charge, and when the money is converted the bank usually applies a less favourable rate than the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee: banks convert at a rate with a margin built in. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites.

Money transfer services frequently offer rates closer to the mid-market rate with clearer fees. Before your next transfer to Philippines, take a minute to compare what arrives on GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank.

SWIFT transfers to Philippines

Because Philippines does not belong to SEPA, an international payment is usually sent as a SWIFT payment. That means you always need the BIC of the recipient’s bank, together with the account number or IBAN.

Not every country uses IBAN numbers – where there is none, the local account number is enough. The receiving bank usually has instructions for payments from abroad – follow them exactly. Before it arrives, a payment may pass through intermediary banks that take a fee.

What a sender needs to pay you in Philippines

To receive an international payment in Philippines, the sender needs not just the SWIFT code. In practice that means: your name exactly as it appears on the account, your account number or IBAN, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and, often, your address.

Look up the bank in the list above – your bank statement is the final word. You can include the name and city of your bank because some forms have separate fields for it.

Expect that the amount credited is below the amount on the sender’s receipt. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank – your bank’s price list tells you what applies. For business payments, state how the fees are split.

Recognising a SWIFT code from Philippines

SWIFT/BIC codes follow one international format: 8 characters, sometimes followed by three more. The first four letters stand for the bank, characters five and six form the country code and the next two mark the location.

You can recognise a bank code from Philippines by letters five and six: they always show the ISO country code of Philippines. A code with a different country code come from another country, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The long version adds three characters for a branch – XXX stands for the head office. In most cases the head office code is fine unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

Check the code before you pay

The safest source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details: an invoice, a statement or their online banking. A wrong code can cause a delay, a returned payment or additional charges, so compare it with the list on this page.

We collect bank codes from publicly available data and update them regularly. Still, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes, so information can be out of date. Before a payment that matters, confirm the BIC with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site and has no link to the banks in this list.

Scammers often send payment requests with new bank details that look completely genuine. A real SWIFT code says nothing about who owns the account: criminals use real codes too.

SWIFT codes in Philippines: banks under :letter

This page only shows the banks in Philippines beginning with :letter. The counts in the introduction always refer to the whole country and not only this selection.

Some banks are listed under their legal name rather than the name on their app or website, so the letter can differ from what you expect. Use the full list for Philippines when you do not know the exact name.