@vehicross100 declared in earnest:
So I went to my settings turned it on and tried the Bank number. To my surprise it rang and someone picked up and I was able to handle my business. The call should be free since it used my unlimited Wifi plan.
Not sure how it would work for someone trying to call me or a Call Back.
For the Code I just had a relative in the states forward it to me using the US # I have on file.
WIFI calling here confuses me. I have a Samsung and I turn it on for both sim slots, one for Globe and one eSIM for Google Fi. For international calls, I still get charged by Google Fi at the normal rate even with WIFI calling on. I have my data paused with Google Fi (I only use globe data on that phone, and wifi where available). Supposedly, Google Fi supports WIFI calling at least in theory but perhaps not on my phone. For the Globe postpaid sim, Globe claims WIFI calling is available, I think that one works. I call landlines all over the Philippines and there is some logo in the upper right that says "VO" with a partial Wi-Fi symbol So I think Globe gives me Wi-Fi calling free throughout the Philippines, otherwise I would be charged for calls to Manila. In both cases the calls are super clear.
On getting the Codes, I would have a problem with expecting relatives/family to cooperate in sending me codes. My wife and I are often using online banking, and I also have a few other accounts that use US-based sim card SMS phone codes as one of the options for 2FA.
2FA = "2 factor authentication". Normally the 2 factors are your password (hopefully very strong) and some code sent to or generated by your smartphone.
2FA codes seems to be handled slightly different for everybody. And different still for countries outside the USA. For my institutions I have no choice: They only use SMS text to a US-based phone number. To deal with that, I primarily use a Google FI eSIM with data on pause. Google Fi seems to say there is no time limit to return to the US for using phone and text although data is throttled after 50 days (obviously I don't need their data).
More recently, I have heard of expats using Tello for the codes. It is supposed to work very well, at least at the moment. Whatever you do, always have a backup sim number or google voice if it works because it just takes one business decision and a company can arbitrarily turn you off in the Philippines. I use Google Voice which I also used when 2FA first came out and it still works for us. This has been for several years but I keep hearing stories about institutions rejecting google voice (which by the way is highly secure, more so than a Sim card). But it may or may not work you. Only about 40% of banks accept google voice. So currently we have one USA cell phone number plus a working google voice.
If you have a Schwab account, I heard they let you sign on with an authenticator app rather than a phone call or text. Google authenticator is damn convenient. No phone call, just a time based 6-digit code from an app on your phone, type it and you're in. That really solves a lot of expat problems in getting phones that receive/produce texts reliably. You don't need a sim card phone number anymore and in fact, you don't even need to be connected to the internet for the authenticator to work. There are even better secure apps as well, but it will be years before bank employees understand how to use them. I don't see much hope for them to understand authenticators for years to come but Schwab gives us hope.
