Withdraw Xoom at SM or BDO - Part 2

Withdrawing Xoom at BDO or SM business centers is okay if you are prepared and have the complete information and documents. 

As promised in the Part 1 of this post, here is how you can claim your Xoom salaries or remittance through SM or BDO.

Note:  SM and BDO uses the same Remittance Form and the procedures are the same too.

You will need the following:
1.  Most important - the Xoom Number that your sender got when the money was sent.
2.  The amount sent and what currency.
3.  Optional:  The secret word if your sender indicated any when the money was sent.
4.  2 government issued IDs like Passport, Driver's license, SSS, GSIS, etc.  If you only have one, fine, bring it still.  Some branches are considerate.  But the policy is followed to the letter by some BDO and SM branches and are picky with seeing 2 IDs.

Usability and Customer Conversion Note: 
I can understand SM and BDO are being protective of your money, but it's inconsiderate because not all Filipinos have 1 legal ID to begin with.  So looking for 2 IDs makes it rather difficult to withdraw the remittance, when they have the Xoom number and secret word anyways.  It is a drawback to you, dear SM or BDO because you may lose precious remittance dollar$ and customers, when the sender finds out their family back here cannot withdraw the money they sent!  They will quickly change money remittance centers the next payday, so that it's convenient for their family to receive the money.  I'm just saying...

5.  Your sender's information overseas and your information

• Complete Name (Tell your sender to write in the same name as the one in your legal IDs)
• Your sender's and your address
• Your sender's and your tel. no.  I think SM-BDO wants a land line number indicated as well.

6.  Lots of patience

7.  Bring a book, PSP or gadget so you can wait in peace.

To claim your Xoom remittance:


Make sure you have asked your sender the number, secret word, name indicated, address and phone number overseas.

Go to SM or BDO.  If you will claim late in the afternoon or early evening, ask the branch up to what time they accept Xoom transactions.  Some have a cut-off because it takes some time to process.

Ask for the remittance form and fill it up completely.  Your sender's info will also be written down so I hope you followed the first step before coming over to BDO-SM.

Give the form and your IDs.

Wait for 15-30 minutes.  Sometimes it takes 45 minutes to an hour.  Yeah.  Quite ridiculous in this day and age of instant messaging and almost instantaneous email.

In my experience,  SM Business Centers are quite quick.  BDO branches I've been to are quite zzzzzzzzzz....  except for BDO in Robinson's Galleria which surprised me because they were quicker than the SM Business Centers even.  (Note that I withdraw in US Dollars, so there's a lot of hullaballoo in requesting for dollars and eats up more time)

If your sender sent you money in Philippine Pesos, I recommend getting your remittance at a Cebuana Lhuillier branch instead.  They are super quick, almost no waiting time.  And they are not so strict with IDs and the sender's information.  You can definitely claim with only one ID.

So there.  I thought all along BDO and SM were okay but as I tediously write this down, I just realized it was quite cumbersome.  But still, you might need this info so best be prepared.  I have been using Xoom 2x/month for 2 1/2 years so I can claim my remittance at SM or BDO even while asleep.  The quickest way to get your money is to have everything prepared before you go there.

Since Xoom is okay anyways, you can still ask your sender or client to send you your fees through Xoom, just in Philippine Pesos, and claim at Cebuana  Lhuillier so that the process is quick and convenient for you.


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Super Pleased with Union Bank EON

I am super happy with my Union Bank EON.

• Total deductions, minimal (and from Paypal, not Union Bank).
• Time to make funds available : Quicker

The total fee deducted from my pay is just P50 for the Paypal request to transfer to Union Bank.  I used to transfer Paypal to my China Bank account, but it frustrated me that they deducted around P200-plus for accepting Paypal.  And this is deducted every time, so people who need to make weekly transfers because they need to are penalized the most.

As for time to receive the money, I do transactions on Wednesday mornings and money is usually in by late Friday evening.  When I was still using China Bank, the money came in by Monday the following week.

Yup, I'm a happy customer.

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Withdrawing Xoom in the Philippines through BDO and SM Business Center Part 1

I have been withdrawing Xoom at BDO and SM for the last 2 years and I can say the service is very reliable.

Recently, I have ended my online services with a client who pays with Xoom. So last week, it was my last time to withdraw Xoom. I did so at the SM Business Center and the teller requested for a second ID. I said I only had my SSS ID, my license and passport are not available, but I did have a Xoom password. I was allowed to withdraw the remittance, and the teller said they were just accommodating my request but it will be the last time they will allow me to withdraw with just one ID. I nodded, knowing full well that it was to be my last until another Xoom client comes along.

As I waited, I reflected that yes, Xoom and I had a good roll. In mid-2008, as a newbie freelance online worker, there were lots of times BDO's or SM's connection with Xoom were offline. But on hindsight, I realize I have not had trouble with offline connections since late 2009 and 2010.

Also, if you are withdrawing in Philippine Pesos, I found out that withdrawals through Cebuana Lhuillier took just minutes. I expressed my surprise and the Lhuillier staff said that they had a more direct access somehow with Xoom, that is why they were faster. SM and BDO have a lot of online clearances to verify an amount to be sent, thus I always had to wait a long time.


Next: How to Withdraw your Xoom Money from BDO or SM Business Center



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When is Payday for Online Workers?

Some online workers who work for regular stints get paid in the usual 15th/ 30th of the month.

But for others who work per project, and have some amounts set aside already and are not financially dependent on the next paycheck, I realize payday can be any day you want it to be payday.

Cool, huh?

Yep, another one of those perks of working online freelance...


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How this Online Filipino Worker Earns

 There are plenty of ways Pinoys earn online.

Here are some ways Filipinos earn online, some of which are still a total mystery to me up to now, even if I have been stuck to this seat facing the monitor for 3 years now:


-  Earn from Blogging1.  You can write paid blog posts.  Some companies you can write for are payperpost, blogsvertise, and more.  The more followers you have (because you are a good blog keeper) the higher amounts you can demand. Some people really earn a decent income from a post.  Me, my earning capacity from blogging is crippled because of my laziness to be pro-active with online communities.
-  Earn from Blogging2.  Some post adsense ads and ads from other companies.  Some earn big amounts from adsense.  Unfortunately I'm not one of them.  It's not so much as setting up your blog and waiting for people to come and click your ads and you earn.  The great adsense earners work on their blogs constantly to attract the traffic and engage them with excellent content and a sense of community.
-  Earn from Affiliate marketing. Pinoys sign up as affiliates to the big stores, and they fix their own webstores with  affiliate products so that people buy through them. They get commisions.
-  Earn from Pay per click. Is a total mystery to me.  I never really studied how this works. I feel it takes too much effort for so little pay.  But then, I don't know anything about it to say that. 
-  Working on Freelance projects.  Some sell their skills online, and there are lots of skills you can sell online.  IT-related, writing, designing, admin work, consulting.  There are a lot to be done.  The freelancers work on short stints and constantly market themselves to get new projects.  If you get high paying projects, great.  But save up so that on days when nobody's looking for your skills, you have some money to cough out.
-  Regular workers/ online employees.  These are the residents who work constantly for one party.  So you lose the fine line between client and boss.  Oh, the fine line is not so fine, really.  Employees work 8 hours a day (or the equivalent) for the boss, like in a regular office.  However, as the character of telecommuters go, who work by themselves without supervision, the trap is that online workers work too much, beyond the hours they are supposed to stop and spend time with family. In short, when one becomes a resident worker, you tend to work 10 hours, 15 hours.  No time for family anymore! tsk tsk.
-  Selling using the internet.   One of the best ways to earn online, believe me.  You don't have to be the slave all the time, like me. You can be the boss as well. Same principles apply as to running a business, only you use the net smartly to be seen and heard by customers.  What can you sell on the net?  Anything and everything!  Actual items, services, cyber items, even food and pieces of land get sold on the net!  (Someone even sold tickets to the 2012 end of the world ship over EBay).  Use the net to get leads.  Some seal deals online, others seal the deal face to face. 

How do I do it for myself?  How do I earn?  I prefer to be a regular employee, who also accepts freelance gigs.  The pay is regular, twice a month, and if you have no gigs, that is fine as well.


Someday, I do hope to learn the secrets to earning a lot from adsense, and I would also like to sell online...  but for now, I am content with my regular online job and gigs.


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