The peso is the Philippines' official currency. The current USD/PHP exchange rate is about 53. If you buy something for roughly 50 pesos, you'll pay about $1. Salaries in the Philippines are substantially lower than in Western nations, however this also results in exceptionally inexpensive costs for most products and services. For example, a pair of jeans will set you back around $20-25, while a similar pair from North America or Europe would cost at least double that. Exchange Rates: When you send money to the Philippines, be sure to check how much PHP coins are worth in dollars before you start packing your pockets. The more PHP coins you have, the higher value you'll get for each dollar you send. But if you don't use enough PHP coins, you may not get as much PHP for each dollar you send. Here's an example: If you have $100 in American cash and spend it all on imports, then you'll end up with only 63 PHP coins (100 divided by 2 cents). To get the same amount in PHP coins, you'd need to multiply the dollar amount by 53. This means that even though the Philippine peso is currently very strong, you're still likely to lose money when sending dollars to the country. You should expect to pay tax on any import purchases, whether they're made in the Philippines or not.