Sending money to the Philippines from Canada in 2026 is good value right now — the Canadian dollar buys more pesos than it did in early spring. But the gap between providers is wide: on a C$500 transfer, the difference between the best service (XE) and the worst (OFX) is about 976 PHP — roughly C$22 that either reaches your family or doesn't.
That difference almost never comes from the advertised fee. Most services show “C$0 fees”. The real cost hides in the CAD/PHP exchange rate margin each provider applies.
IdealRemit compares 20 services on the Canada → Philippines corridor in real time — including XE, KOHO, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, Sendwave, WorldRemit, Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria — across GCash and Maya e-wallets, bank deposit and cash pickup.
Just enter your amount and sort by pesos received. It's the only number that matters — and the leader changes from month to month.
| Provider | Rate (CAD/PHP) | Fee | Received on C$500 | vs. worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XE | 43.5114 | C$0 | 21,756 PHP | +976 PHP |
| LemFi | 43.4100 | C$0 | 21,705 PHP | +925 PHP |
| KOHO | 43.3600 | C$0 | 21,680 PHP | +900 PHP |
| Sendwave | 43.3523 | C$0 | 21,676 PHP | +897 PHP |
| TapTapSend | 43.3000 | C$0 | 21,650 PHP | +870 PHP |
| WorldRemit | 43.2867 | C$0 | 21,643 PHP | +864 PHP |
| Ria | 43.5000 | C$3.00 | 21,620 PHP | +840 PHP |
| TalkRemit | 43.2284 | C$0 | 21,614 PHP | +835 PHP |
| Profee | 43.1622 | C$0 | 21,581 PHP | +801 PHP |
| Remitly | 43.1000 | C$0 | 21,550 PHP | +770 PHP |
| Paysend | 43.3573 | C$3.00 | 21,549 PHP | +769 PHP |
| Instarem | 43.0131 | C$0 | 21,507 PHP | +727 PHP |
| Dahabshiil | 42.9977 | C$0 | 21,499 PHP | +719 PHP |
| Western Union | 42.7071 | C$0 | 21,354 PHP | +574 PHP |
| Xoom | 42.4780 | C$0 | 21,239 PHP | +459 PHP |
| Skrill | 42.1998 | C$0 | 21,100 PHP | +320 PHP |
| OFX | 41.5592 | C$0 | 20,780 PHP | — |
Snapshot at 13 June 2026 (providers quoting that day). Rates move in real time.
XE delivers about 976 PHP more than OFX on the same C$500 transfer — roughly C$22.
Watch the fixed fees: Ria and Paysend post strong headline rates but each charge C$3 — on small amounts that can outweigh a slightly better rate. MoneyGram was competitive in earlier months.
| Amount sent | XE (best) | Western Union (mid) | OFX (worst) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C$100 | 4,351 PHP | 4,271 PHP | 4,156 PHP | 195 PHP |
| C$300 | 13,053 PHP | 12,812 PHP | 12,468 PHP | 586 PHP |
| C$500 | 21,756 PHP | 21,354 PHP | 20,780 PHP | 976 PHP |
| C$1,000 | 43,511 PHP | 42,707 PHP | 41,559 PHP | 1,952 PHP |
| C$2,000 | 87,023 PHP | 85,414 PHP | 83,118 PHP | 3,904 PHP |
The Philippine peso floats freely on global currency markets, so there's a clear mid-market rate to measure against. Providers don't have to give you that rate — each applies its own margin, and that margin is where the real cost sits.
On our data the spread between the best and worst provider reaches about 4.5% of the amount sent — far wider than fixed-rate corridors, which makes comparing essential:
Advertised fees rarely reflect the true cost. The only reliable figure is the pesos actually received, which our comparison calculates for every option.
Canada is home to one of the world's largest Filipino communities — about 957,000 people of Filipino origin (2.6% of the population and the fourth-largest racialized group), and the Philippines is the third-largest source of immigrants to Canada. Communities are concentrated in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba — Winnipeg has the highest share of any major city. That makes Canada → Philippines a major, year-round remittance corridor, much of it driven by families supporting relatives back home.
What sets this corridor apart is the receiving side. The Philippines is overwhelmingly mobile-first: GCash (90M+ users) and Maya are the dominant ways to receive money, usually credited within minutes. Most digital providers — XE, KOHO, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, Sendwave, WorldRemit — pay directly into a GCash or Maya wallet. For unbanked recipients, cash pickup at Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier, Palawan and LBC remains widely used.
On this corridor the per-transfer gap is large and it compounds:
A comparison on IdealRemit takes under 60 seconds. Because the leading provider can change month to month, it's worth checking before every transfer.
The Canadian dollar strengthened against the peso over the period — the best available rate rose from about 43.5 in March to a peak near 44.8 in May, easing back through June. In short, C$500 buys more pesos now than in early spring, though the rate has come off its May high.
| Month | KOHO | XE | Remitly | TapTapSend | Sendwave | Western Union | Ria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | 43.36 | 43.09 | 42.71 | 42.92 | 42.87 | 42.98 | N/A |
| April 2026 | 43.92 | 43.53 | 43.65 | 43.38 | 43.73 | 43.25 | 43.78 |
| May 2026 | 44.69 | 44.39 | 44.42 | 44.41 | 44.27 | 44.04 | 44.34 |
| June 2026 | 44.16 | 43.90 | 43.89 | 43.92 | 43.76 | 43.51 | 43.86 |
Key takeaway: KOHO, a Canadian app, posted the best average rate in three of the four months — a homegrown option worth checking alongside XE and TapTapSend. Western Union trailed throughout. The day of the month and day of the week show no reliable effect — what matters is the provider you pick and the broader CAD/PHP trend, not timing your send to a particular day.
| Receiving method | Providers / networks |
|---|---|
| E-wallet (GCash, Maya) — within minutes | XE, KOHO, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, Sendwave, WorldRemit |
| Bank deposit (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, RCBC, Landbank, PNB) via InstaPay/PESONet | XE, Remitly, Instarem, WorldRemit, Ria |
| Cash pickup (Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier, Palawan, LBC) | Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria, Remitly, WorldRemit |
| Door-to-door / home delivery (select areas) | MoneyGram, select remittance partners |
GCash and Maya are the fastest and most popular way to receive money in the Philippines — most digital providers credit the wallet within minutes using only the recipient's mobile number. For unbanked recipients, cash pickup at Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier and Palawan branches is available nationwide.
Tip: ask your recipient which they prefer before you choose. If they use GCash or Maya, a wallet payout is usually fastest and cheapest; if they collect cash, check which pickup network is closest to them.
Last updated: June 2026.
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