Use of American Currency while in the Philippines?

Question

When going to the Philippines, what American Denominations can I take with me? Supposedly, you aren't allowed to bring or use or exchange American Dollars for Philippine Pesos that have ink marks / tears on dollar bills. Is there a cutoff as to what year of the American Currency that I can bring into the Philippines with me?

Answer 1

last time i went home May 2007 I did no tknow of anything like what you are saying.

As long as it is a geniune american dollar then its' okey.

If you want you cango the http://www.AseanFace.com and ask all teh filipinos there, They might have another experience about what youa re saying.

Answer 2

If you must bring currency with you, bring crisp, clean, never folded 100 dollar bills with no marks on them.  Even the pen marks that cashiers use to authenticate them at the register will cause the filipinos not to want them.  They are very picky about it.  They like the new issue version only. Sometimes they will accept a slightly worn bill but at a lower exchange rate than advertised.  The best exchange rates I ever got were from the ATM machine when I withdraw cash.  It dispenses pesos, usually in 500 peso notes.  ATM's are available everywhere.  For maximum withdrawal use an ATM that is physically connected to a bank like BPI, or PNB, Metro Bank, etc.  If you use an ATM at a mall, airport, or other stand-alone machine it's usually limited to 4000 or 5000 pesos at a time.  You'll get too many "per use" fees that way.  Also you need to notify your card issuer that your going overseas.  They routinely deny foreign transactions unless you tell them ahead of time.  As far as I know everybody does that now for your own protection.  Just call them before you leave and you won't have any problems.  Also, DON'T EVER EVER USE A STREET VENDOR MONEY CHANGER NO MATTER WHAT RATE HE PROMISES.  They are all slight-of-hand magicians and they do this s.h.i.t. every day all day long.  You can't catch them. Just don't go there.

Answer 3

Why don't you just use your ATM card to get money out in pesos as needed...then you do not need to carry large amounts of cash or worry about the condition of the bills you have.

Answer 4

before your trip withdraw some cash (only a little - $300) from your bank. ask teller for new crispy bills in 5s, 10s, 20s.  then use ATM in the phils.

Answer 5

No, but if you are bringing anything in cash above the $10,000 limit then you will pay taxes after that so bring cash less than that then just access the rest through your ATM card.. You can also use your credit card in major stores and restaurants

Answer 6

Dude, just use ATMs.  They are available in all cities, and towns too small to have ATM's also won't change foreign currency at a reasonable rate.

If you insist on bringing cash to change, you will get a better rate for $100 bills.  I used to exchange foreign currency with ink marks on them all of the time and never had a problem.  As a matter of fact many money changers are muslim, and they usually have a small stamp that they put on the notes to show they checked for authenticity.