Complete Guide to Receiving Remittances from Ria in Philippines

Ria¹ is an international money transfer service which can be used to send a payment from 20+ countries, to many different destinations around the world. If you’re wondering how to receive money from Ria in the Philippines this guide is for you. We’ll cover how and where to claim a Ria remittance in the Philippines, and all the pay in and pay out options available.

Requirements to Send Ria Transfers to Philippines

Let’s start with a few important requirements if you’re going to receive a payment through Ria in the Philippines:

• Your sender must be in a country which allows Ria transfers - this covers around 18 countries in Europe, plus Canada, Chile, United States, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore³
• Your sender should have a Ria account - which means having an email address and a personal phone number so Ria can get in touch with any queries about the transfer
• Limits apply to the amount you can send to the Philippines for cash collection - you’ll need to check your payment is under the limit for your preferred pick up location (usually around 200,000 PHP)

It’s worth noting here that the services and options available for the person sending you money might vary depending on where in the world they’re located. For this guide we have used Ria US as an example when looking for specific options, features and fees - have your sender check the terms and conditions of their local Ria service wherever they are before they start their transfer.

How to use Ria to Send Money to the Philippines

If you want someone to use Ria from abroad to send transfers to the Philippines, they’ll first need to create a Ria account. There are a few different ways to do this - here’s an example of how to register a Ria account in the app, from the US⁴:

1. Open the Ria app and click Register
2. Confirm the US as your home country
3. Enter your email address and set a password
4. Read and agree to the service Terms and Conditions
5. Enter your full name, date of birth and phone number and click Continue
6. Enter your address and tap Continue
7. Choose and answer three security questions

Once you have an account, you can send a payment. In many countries, you can send a payment with Ria online, in app or in person at an agent. The easiest option is usually to make a digital payment online or in the Ria app⁵:

1. Log in to your Ria account on the app or on the website
2. Click"Send" or "Send money" and enter the country you're sending money to
3. Enter how much you're sending in your home currency or how much you want your recipient to receive
4. Enter the way you want to pay
5. Choose your delivery method
6. Enter your recipient's details
7. Pay for your transfer and your money on its way

Here’s the information you’ll need to have to hand to send a payment through Ria to the Philippines, for deposit to a bank account:

• Recipient’s full name as it appears with the financial institution
• Recipient’s bank name or code
• Recipient’s bank account number
• Recipient’s city and state

If you’re sending money for cash pickup, you’ll need the recipient’s full name as it is shown on their government issued ID documents.

Once your money is moving, you or the recipient can track the transfer online or in app⁶.

Ria Transfer to the Philippines: How long does it take

How long a Ria money transfer takes may depend on the payout method⁷:

• Cash pickups may be available within 10 minutes
• Transfers to a mobile wallet can be available in minutes
• Deposits to a bank account are normally completed within 15-30 minutes

Bear in mind that if you’re sending money to a bank account after 3 PM Manilla time, or on Saturdays and Sundays may take up to 2 working days.

Ways to Receive Ria Transfers in Philippines

Let’s look at how you might be able to receive money through Ria in the Philippines.

Cash Pickup of Ria Transfer

If you’re getting a payment through Ria to be picked up in cash you will need to ask the sender to give you the PIN which they receive after the transfer is confirmed. You can then take this and your government issued photo ID to a local agent to get your cash.

There are over 20,000 agents to choose from. Decide where to claim your Ria remittance by looking on the Ria locations map⁸ and picking the one which is easiest for you.

Home Delivery of Ria Transfer

From some countries, your sender may be able to opt to send money to be delivered to your door in cash by courier. This service is not available everywhere, but if it’s an option all you’ll need to do is to be home when the courier calls, and able to show your ID and give the transfer PIN. The courier will then give you your money in PHP or USD cash, depending on what was requested.

Ria Transfer to the Philippines - Bank Account

If you’re getting a Ria payment to your bank all you need to do is to give the sender your bank information, including the account number and bank address, and your full name. The money will be deposited to your account - usually in 30 minutes or so.

Looking to compare the options for a transfer to a bank account in the Philippines? We’ll cover an alternative that might suit you - Wise - in just a moment.

Ria Transfer to Mobile Wallet

The final option usually available for Ria transfers to the Philippines is to have your money deposited to your preferred mobile wallet. Ria partners with the following mobile wallets:

• GCash
• PayMaya
• GrabPay
• Coins.ph
• ShopeePay
• PalawanPay

Just make sure your sender has the phone number associated with your wallet and your money should be deposited automatically.

Fees to Receive Money with Ria in the Philippines

Generally, the recipient will not pay a fee to receive money in the Philippines. That said, some banks or mobile wallets have their own fees for receiving payments so you’ll need to check the account terms and conditions to see if the provider will deduct any fee for an incoming money transfer.

It’s also helpful to note that limits apply on cash pick ups in the Philippines, based on the location in which you want to get your money:

• MJ Lhuiller: maximum cash pick up limit of 250,000 PHP per transfer
• Cebuana L: maximum cash pick up limit of 200,000 PHP per transfer
• BDO Palawan/Tambunting/USSC: maximum cash pick up limit of 200,000 PHP per transfer

So - as the recipient you may not need to pay to get your Ria payment. But the service isn’t free - the costs are just picked up by the person sending you money. Let’s take a look.

Ria Transfer Charges

The costs the sender needs to pay can vary based on:

• The country and currency the sender is sending from
• The value of the payment
• How you want to receive your money
• How the sender chooses to pay

Charges vary, but are shown on screen when the sender arranges the payment. If your sender wants to keep costs as low as possible they’ll probably need to pay with a bank transfer - if they want a faster payment, using a card is often a better choice. Sending with a credit card is usually the most expensive option, incurring fees from both Ria and the card provider. The transfer fee isn’t the only cost - currency conversion fees may also apply. More on that next.

Ria Conversion Rate

There’s one final fee - a markup which is a fee added to the exchange rate. This fee is rolled into the rate used to convert the sender’s currency to PHP, which means that it can be pretty tricky to spot.

Using a currency exchange markup isn’t uncommon but it can make the pricing pretty confusing as it’s harder to see what the transfer is really costing including all the fees applied.

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Sources:

1. Ria Money Transfer
2. *Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
3. Ria help - which countries can I send in
4. Ria help - create an account in the app
5. Ria help - send money
6. Ria PH - track an order
7. Ria US help - send to the Philippines
8. Ria locations map