GCash's PHP 5 BPI, UnionBank cash-in fee takes effect

GCash starts collecting a PHP5 fee for cash-ins via BPI and UnionBank.

BPI, UnionBank, GCash

Convenience fee starts to roll out!

Heads up to GCash users, a PHP 5 convenience fee will be collected from you if you use BPI or UnionBank to cash into your e-wallet account. This started on Monday, October 2.

Upon checking the app, the fee was collected when we tried cashing in.

The company announced this new policy last month.

GCash earlier stated its reason for this move.

Due to increasing costs, linked accounts will include a convenience fee for every Cash In transaction starting October 2, 2023, it noted.

A company PR representative told GIZGUIDE that GCash has been subsidizing the transaction or transfer cost to BPI for the longest time.

Sample transaction

The company claims that the PHP 5 fee is still cheaper than the usual PHP 15 to 25 fee for other banks.

GCash users may opt for GCash partner banks that use InstaPay so they won't feel the PHP 5 service fee.

Users may also cash in via PayPal, which is free of charge.

Another option for GCash users is Over-the-Counter cash-in. This is free until you reach a monthly limit of PHP 8,000. After reaching this limit, a service fee of 2 percent will apply each time you cash in. The fee will be deducted automatically from the amount you cashed into your GCash wallet.

This limit refreshes on the first day of each month, so you can cash in over the counter for up to PHP 8,000 for free every month.

What do you think about this?