Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) or NAIA is the main airport of Philippines. The airport consists of 4 distant terminals offering different range of currency exchange facilities in each of them. Check what options you have and what currency exchange rates you can get at Manila Airport Terminal 3.
NAIA Terminal 3 is the busiest terminal of Manila Airport as it receives a big number of domestic and international flights. NAIA Terminal 3 was where we landed when flying with Cebu Pacific from Bangkok (Thailand). As most of local businesses still prefer cash and it’s often the only possible payment option in Philippines, getting local currency (Philippine Pesos - PHP) right at the airport is almost essential as you will need cash for getting a taxi or shuttle bus to central Manila as well as for buying local SIM card to stay connected.
NAIA Terminal 3 offers you 2 options for getting local currency:
- Withdrawal from ATM;
- Currency Exchange.
Withdrawal from ATM might is less cost effective option in the Philippines as you will not only loose on exchange rate but also have to pay your bank’s foreign withdrawal fees and in most cases an addition fee for Filipino bank.
To get the best foreign exchange rate in Manila, get a Wise Card before your trip so you could withdraw Philippine Pesos at the current mid-market rate and pay just a very small exchange fee for it. It will definitely be much cheaper than using your bank card or exchanging cash at the airport!
As currency exchange options at NAIA Terminal 3 are significantly wider, here you can expect to get better currency exchange rates than at Terminal 1 of Manila Airport. Actually the rates here are normally as good as in the center of Manila, especially if you are bringing USD which is still preferred foreign currency in Philippines.
Currency Exchange Booths
Currency exchange booths at NAIA Terminal 3 are located at arrival area and departure level. The biggest concentration of them can be found at the arrivals area, so check there for the best exchange rates.
Here you will find currency exchange booths of these banks:
Bank of Commerce NAIA Terminal 3 – open Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 02:30
Land Bank NAIA Terminal 3
Banco de Oro (BDO) NAIA Terminal 3 - open Monday to Sunday, from 08:00 to midnight
Philippine National Bank NAIA Terminal 3 – open Monday to Sunday, 24 hours
Philtrust Bank NAIA Terminal 3
Metrobank NAIA Terminal 3
Update! Currently the branch of Metrobank at NAIA Terminal 3 seems to be closed!
Security Bank NAIA Terminal 3
Update! Currently the branch of Security Bank at NAIA Terminal 3 seems to be closed!
There are also few currency exchange booths of independent money changers at Manila Airport Terminal 3. Some of them are open 24 hours. Just look for the sign “Foreign Exchange” and you will notice them. However, there’s no guarantee that their rates will be better than these offered by the banks, so shop around.
Currency Exchange Rates at NAIA Terminal 3
Currency exchange rates offered at Terminal 3 of Manila Airport (MNL) are as good as you will get in the city as the competition here is really high. For example, USD exchange rates are clearly advertised at every booth and during our visit it was 51.80-51.85 PHP and 1.85 PHP was the best USD rate we spotted in the center of Manila on the same evening.
USD exchange rates at the airport varied very little but the same can’t be said about other currencies. So if you bring Euro, GBP, AUD or any other less popular currency, be sure to shop around and compare the exchange rates as they can vary quite significantly.
What currency exchange rates can be expected at NAIA Terminal 3? As you know, exchange rates vary during the day, so the best way to imagine how good the rates at the airport are is comparing them with the official rate on the day of checking. For current official rate just google “USD to PHP” or “EUR to PHP” and you will get an idea what to expect as currency exchange rates will be a bit lower than that.
USD to PHP exchange rate at NAIA Terminal 3
The official USD exchange rate at the time was 51.93 PHP for 1 dollar, so the rate offered at the airport (51.85 PHP/USD) was lower than the official rate only by 0.08 PHP or about 0.2%. It’s definitely a superb deal that you could hardly expect to get in your home country so bringing USD and exchanging it in Philippines is really a great idea. As mentioned above, USD exchange rates at NAIA Terminal 3 vary only by about 0.1% so wasting your time for getting the best deal might be not worth it.
EUR to PHP exchange rate at NAIA Terminal 3
The official EUR exchange rate at the time was 64.02 PHP for 1 euro, so the best rate offered at the airport (63.70 PHP/EUR at BDO) was by 0.32 PHP or about 0.5% lower than the official rate. Euro exchange rate is worse than USD exchange rate but the difference is still much less than your bank in Europe would charge you.
If you’re exchanging euro at Terminal 3 of Manila Airport, be sure to check around and compare the rates as we saw the rates varying from 60.35 PHP (Landbank) to 63.70 PHP (BDO) for 1 euro, depending on the changer. Exchange 1000 EUR at the lowest rate and you will be losing 50 EUR just for not checking at the booth few meters away!
Exchange rates of other currencies at NAIA Terminal 3
The official GBP exchange rate at the time was 73.98 PHP for 1 pound, so the best rate offered at the airport (73.10 PHP/GBP at Security Bank) was by 0.88 PHP or about 1.2% lower than the official rate. GBP exchange rates varied a lot - from 68.55 PHP (Landbank) to 73.10 PHP (Security Bank) for 1 pound. Checking around for the best rates can save you more than 6% of your money.
The official AUD exchange rate at the time was 40.40 PHP for 1 dollar, so the best rate offered at the airport (40.00 PHP/AUD) was by 0.40 AUD or about 1% lower than the official rate. AUD exchange rates varied from 37.50 PHP (Landbank) to 40.00 PHP (BDO) for 1 dollar, depending on the bank. Again, exchanging money at the right place can save you more than 6% of your money.
Best Exchange Rates at NAIA Terminal 3
Quite surprisingly, during our visit the best exchange rates at Terminal 3 of Manila Airport where offered by the banks and not smaller money changers.
The best exchange rate for USD at NAIA Terminal 3 was offered by BDO, Landbank and some of smaller money changers. However, all over places offered the rate lower by only 0.1% that is really acceptable.
The best exchange rate for EUR at NAIA Terminal 3 was offered by BDO but it was a very long queue at the counters of this bank so we opted for an independent money changer and got 0.1 PHP or 0.16% lower rate than we could.
The best exchange rate for GBP at NAIA Terminal 3 was offered by Security Bank. In many cases this bank was the second just behind BDO so it’s really worth to take a look at the rates they are offering at the time of your arrival.
The best exchange rate for AUD at NAIA Terminal 3 was also offered by BDO and none of other changers where even close to them.
The best exchange rates for other currencies at NAIA Terminal 3 were offered by:
- SGD to PHP – BDO (39.45 PHP/SGD)
- JPY to PHP – BDO (0.4835 PHP/JPY)
- HKD to PHP – BDO (6.55 PHP/HKD)
- CAD to PHP – BDO (40.90 PHP/CAD)
- CNY to PHP – BDO, Philtrust (8.15 PHP/CNY)
What currency exchange booth should you choose if you don’t have time to walk around the airport looking for the best deal? In our experience, the best place to exchange your currency at NAIA Terminal 3 is BDO (Banco de Oro) as they offer really fair exchange rates not only for USD but other currencies as well. The only downside of exchanging at this bank is that you might need to wait in a line a bit as it seems to be the most popular bank at Manila Airport.
Unless you are going to exchange US dollars, skip Landbank as they set significantly lower rates than others and even present them on paper – must be a bank from the Medieval Ages!
Tips
To get the best foreign exchange rate in Manila, get a Wise Card before traveling.
If you are planning to use local mobile internet, book Philippines SIM card online and pick it up at the airport. It will help you to save money as you won't need to exchange currency at the airport and will be able to book Grab Taxi for getting into the city.
If you will be arriving at NAIA Terminal 1 in Manila, check your options for currency exchange: Currency Exchange at NAIA Terminal 1.
For a trip from the airport into the city choose NAIA Shuttle Bus Transfers for Manila or experience convenient transfers from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to major cities in Metro Manila by booking a private transfer here: Private NAIA Airport Transfers to Manila.