On a budget and looking for free ATMs in Philippines - Any top banks?
Traveled all over Luzon and ended up using Bank of Commerce for most of my cash needs. Their ATMs are not as common as BPI or Metrobank but they worked perfectly with my N26 Mastercard and showed zero fees at withdrawal. I tried BDO once and got hit with a 250 peso charge for taking out just 5,000 pesos. After that I planned my cash runs around Bank of Commerce locations. Also make sure to always decline conversion when the ATM asks if you want to be charged in your home currency. Other banks charges that i found:
DBP Bank 250 / 20000 limit
BPI 250 / 20000 limit
China Bank 250 / 10,000 or 20,000 limit depending on ATM's cash availability
PNB 250 / 10000 limit
I stayed in Manila and Davao for a few weeks and used a Schwab debit card that refunds ATM fees. Still, I tried to avoid high fees where possible. I noticed that Security Bank charged 0 pesos on screen but my bank statement later showed a 250 peso charge. RCBC and EastWest both charged 250 pesos upfront. Most of them have only 10,000 pesos withdrawal. HSBC in philippines was the best - zero fee and 40,000 pesos transaction limit per withdrawal but there are just like 9-10 HSBC ATMs in all of Philippines so be ready to pay a fee.
Just got back from Palawan and after testing a bunch of ATMs I found that Landbank charged me 250 pesos per withdrawal for 10000 peso withdrawal. BPI and BDO both charged 250 to 300 pesos per withdrawal but they have higher limits of 20,000 and 25,000 pesos per withdrawal. RCBC worked but also had a 250 peso fee. So if you're traveling on a tight budget, go with BDO or BPI or Bank of Commerce if you can spot them.
I was in Cebu and Siquijor earlier this year and tried several ATMs with my Wise card. The only one that didn’t charge a local fee was Bank of Commerce. I found one in a Robinsons Mall and withdrew without any charge from the machine itself. Wise still charged a bit on their side once I crossed the monthly free limit but it was way cheaper than BDO or Metrobank which both hit me with a 250 peso fee every time. Definitely recommend Bank of Commerce if you can find one.
RCBC in the Philippines - only one machine worked and it had a withdrawal limit of just 10,000 pesos.
Land Bank in the Philippines had 4 working ATMs. Everything went smoothly.
BDO ATM in the Philippines was mentioned but not used - no experience shared.
At HSBC in the Philippines, Ive never had to pay an ATM fee - super reliable.