Starting October 2, 2023, GCash users will have to cough up PHP 5.00 for cash-in transactions via Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and UnionBank.
This change is “due to increasing costs,” as per GCash’s recently updated support document 50. Users still have less than two months to enjoy free cash-ins through the said banks.
You can sidestep this new fee by using workarounds like InstaPay 43 or via other banks’ own platform. And if you’re feeling fancy, go ahead and use PayPal cash-in, which remains free.
However, these workarounds may still have their own set of fees, ranging from P10 to P25, depending on the payment platform or bank used.
Considering that other banks may charge higher fees, opting for the P5 GCash cash-in fee is the more logical choice.
As of writing, Maya—a competing e-wallet and a bank—allows users to transfer funds from BPI for free. However, unlike GCash which has no minimum transfer amount for BPI transfers, Maya requires a minimum transfer amount of PHP 500.
While we can hope that GCash won’t add any more banks to have cash-in fees, only time will tell if more will be added to the list.
The BSP and DTI should require that e-wallet and e-commerce companies provide at least one method of payment/cash-in without service fees as a condition of being allowed to operate.