Sending money to the Philippines from the UK in 2026 has rarely been better value — the pound buys more pesos today than it did in spring. But the gap between providers is wide: on a £500 transfer, the difference between the best service (XE) and the worst (OFX) is about 1,856 PHP — roughly £23 that either reaches your family or doesn't.
That difference almost never comes from the advertised fee. Most services show “£0 fees”. The real cost hides in the GBP/PHP exchange rate margin each provider applies.
IdealRemit compares 18+ services on the UK → Philippines corridor in real time — XE, Wise, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, Sendwave, WorldRemit, Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria and more — 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 it changes from month to month.
| Provider | Rate (GBP/PHP) | Fee | Received on £500 | vs. worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XE | 81.8777 | £0 | 40,939 PHP | +1,856 PHP |
| Sendwave | 81.7490 | £0 | 40,875 PHP | +1,792 PHP |
| TapTapSend | 81.5000 | £0 | 40,750 PHP | +1,667 PHP |
| WorldRemit | 81.4212 | £0 | 40,711 PHP | +1,628 PHP |
| Ria | 82.0200 | £4.00 | 40,682 PHP | +1,599 PHP |
| LemFi | 81.3000 | £0 | 40,650 PHP | +1,567 PHP |
| Paysend | 81.3228 | £1.00 | 40,580 PHP | +1,497 PHP |
| TalkRemit | 81.1191 | £0 | 40,560 PHP | +1,477 PHP |
| Profee | 81.0426 | £0 | 40,521 PHP | +1,438 PHP |
| PandaRemit | 80.9915 | £0 | 40,496 PHP | +1,413 PHP |
| Instarem | 80.8696 | £0 | 40,435 PHP | +1,352 PHP |
| Dahabshiil | 80.6862 | £0 | 40,343 PHP | +1,260 PHP |
| Remitly | 80.5800 | £0 | 40,290 PHP | +1,207 PHP |
| Skrill | 80.4662 | £0 | 40,233 PHP | +1,150 PHP |
| Western Union | 79.9556 | £0 | 39,978 PHP | +895 PHP |
| Xoom | 79.0653 | £0 | 39,533 PHP | +450 PHP |
| OFX | 78.1659 | £0 | 39,083 PHP | — |
Snapshot at 13 June 2026 (providers quoting that day). Rates move in real time.
XE delivers about 1,856 PHP more than OFX on the same £500 transfer — roughly £23.
Watch the fixed fees: Ria posts the highest headline rate (82.02) but charges £4, and Paysend charges £1 — on small amounts that can outweigh a slightly better rate. Wise is supported on this corridor but had no live quote at capture. MoneyGram was competitive in earlier months.
| Amount sent | XE (best) | Western Union (mid) | OFX (worst) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | 8,188 PHP | 7,996 PHP | 7,817 PHP | 371 PHP |
| £300 | 24,563 PHP | 23,987 PHP | 23,450 PHP | 1,113 PHP |
| £500 | 40,939 PHP | 39,978 PHP | 39,083 PHP | 1,856 PHP |
| £1,000 | 81,878 PHP | 79,956 PHP | 78,166 PHP | 3,712 PHP |
| £2,000 | 163,755 PHP | 159,911 PHP | 156,332 PHP | 7,424 PHP |
The Philippine peso floats freely and trades on global currency markets, so there is 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. That's 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.
The Philippines is one of the world's largest remittance markets — overseas Filipinos send home roughly US$35–38 billion a year, around 9% of the country's GDP. The UK is home to one of the larger overseas Filipino communities, with a strong presence in the NHS and care sector, making UK → Philippines a major, year-round remittance corridor.
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, with funds usually credited within minutes. Most digital providers — XE, Wise, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, 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 pound strengthened against the peso over the period — the best available rate rose from about 79.4 in March to 82.6 in June (roughly +4%), with a slight easing into June. In other words, £500 buys noticeably more pesos now than in early spring.
| Month | Ria | XE | Sendwave | TapTapSend | Remitly | Western Union | Instarem | OFX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | N/A | 79.04 | 78.85 | 78.73 | 78.03 | 78.15 | 79.06 | N/A |
| April 2026 | 81.63 | 80.69 | 80.59 | 79.96 | 80.77 | 79.57 | 80.65 | 79.42 |
| May 2026 | 82.72 | 82.44 | 82.44 | 82.10 | 82.05 | 81.32 | 82.26 | 79.92 |
| June 2026 | 82.45 | 82.17 | 82.09 | 81.99 | 81.68 | 80.83 | 81.96 | 79.39 |
Key takeaway: Ria has posted the best average headline rate since April (but charges a £4 fee, so on a net basis XE, Sendwave and TapTapSend lead). Western Union and OFX have 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 GBP/PHP trend, not timing your send to a particular day.
| Receiving method | Providers / networks |
|---|---|
| E-wallet (GCash, Maya) — within minutes | XE, Wise, Remitly, Instarem, TapTapSend, Sendwave, WorldRemit |
| Bank deposit (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, RCBC, Landbank, PNB) via InstaPay/PESONet | XE, Wise, 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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