How long does a SWIFT transfer from South Korea to Philippines take?
South Korea hosts a large OFW community, with over 200,000 Filipinos working there. KRW wires exit via BOK-Wire+ (the Bank of Korea's large-value RTGS) and route through a Korean correspondent (Hana, KB, Woori, Shinhan) to a Philippine bank via SWIFT, settling on PhilPaSS. KRW is converted to PHP via USD at the correspondent bank. Korea is 1 hour ahead of the Philippines, so same-business-day credits are achievable for morning Korean sends. BSP requires FX inward registration for larger amounts. Korea's FSS (Financial Supervisory Service) applies AML screening. SWIFT GPI covers the main corridor. Track your UETR on Ohmyfin.
Details
Settlement path: BOK-Wire+ (Bank of Korea) → PhilPaSS (BSP). Currency pair: KRW → PHP.
The three most common causes of delay on this corridor are: (1) KRW-to-PHP FX conversion via USD intermediate step, (2) BSP inward FX documentation for amounts above USD 10,000, and (3) BOK-Wire+ operating hours creating next-day settlement for late-day sends.
If the payment has not arrived within 3 business days, ask your sending bank to file an MT199 payment enquiry citing the UETR and the holding bank's BIC shown on the Ohmyfin GPI tracker.
Key facts
- Typical settlement: 1 business day
- 95th-percentile: 3 business days
- Currency pair: KRW → PHP
- Settlement system: BOK-Wire+ (Bank of Korea) → PhilPaSS (BSP)
- Top delay cause: KRW-to-PHP FX conversion via USD intermediate step
How to track a delayed transfer — step by step
- Get the UETR from your sending bank — Ask your bank for the MT103 payment confirmation. The UETR (Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference) is in field 121 — a 36-character UUID formatted as 8-4-4-4-12 hexadecimal characters.
- Track the payment on Ohmyfin — Paste the UETR into the free Ohmyfin tracker at ohmyfin.org. You will see which bank is currently holding the payment and its live SWIFT GPI status code (ACSP, ACWP, RJCT, etc.).
- Identify the holding bank and delay cause — On the South Korea–Philippines corridor, the most common delay causes are: KRW-to-PHP FX conversion via USD intermediate step; BSP inward FX documentation for amounts above USD 10,000; BOK-Wire+ operating hours creating next-day settlement for late-day sends. The GPI tracker shows exactly which bank last acknowledged the payment.
- Ask your bank to file an MT199 enquiry — If the payment has been static for more than 24 hours, ask your sending bank to send an MT199 payment investigation message quoting the UETR and the holding bank's BIC. SWIFT GPI service levels require banks to respond within one business day.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a SWIFT transfer from South Korea to Philippines take?
Most SWIFT transfers on the South Korea–Philippines corridor credit the beneficiary within 1 business day. In 95% of cases the payment arrives within 3 business days. The most common delay is krw-to-php fx conversion via usd intermediate step.
What causes delays for South Korea–Philippines payments?
The three most common delay causes are: KRW-to-PHP FX conversion via USD intermediate step; BSP inward FX documentation for amounts above USD 10,000; BOK-Wire+ operating hours creating next-day settlement for late-day sends.
What should I do if my South Korea–Philippines SWIFT transfer is late?
Track the UETR on Ohmyfin — the GPI status shows exactly which bank is holding the payment. If delayed beyond 3 business days, ask your sending bank to file an MT199 payment enquiry citing the UETR and the holding bank's BIC.
Which clearing system is used for South Korea–Philippines payments?
The dominant settlement path is BOK-Wire+ (Bank of Korea) → PhilPaSS (BSP). The currency pair is KRW → PHP.
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