Cashing in Cebuana Lhuillier

Not all Filipino people have bank accounts. According to BSP, as of 2017 only 77% of all Filipinos remain unbanked. That’s a pretty high number. Cebuana Lhuillier has noticed this and has served this particular niche in a unique way.

They provide some other financial services other than the typical pawnshop and pera padala, like microloans, microsavings, and microinsurance. Because of this, Cebuana Lhuillier has become one of the best-known pawn shops in the Philippines.

Looking at the rate matrix, Cebuana Lhuillier charges 1-3% of the money every time you remit. It can mean be pretty steep if you ask me. This means that when you send an amount, you also need to take account of the fee. This also means you can’t maximize what you want to send.

This is why more people should opt-in to digital wallets and financial services. Typically the fees are very low compared to what they are used to.

Why is GCash in Cebuana Lhuillier?

GCash has always considered the unbanked as its target market. Because so many poor and lower-income Filipinos utilize pawn shops, it makes sense to tap this resource.

Cash-ins are easy since you only need the receiver to download the GCash app into his phone. Even simple phones that have Globe/TM SIMs can cash-in via *143#. When it comes to mobile phone penetration, the Philippines beats a lot of other countries by far. The majority of Filipinos have a mobile phone, no matter what his current financial standing is.

Once the money is in your GCash wallet, you can Send Money without any charges.

What are the requirements in Cashing-in?

You just need a valid ID, and you also need to accomplish a form.

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Basically you just need to input your complete name, the GCash registered number you are sending to, and the amount you are remitting.

Is there a minimum amount to cash-in? Can I cash out from Cebuana Lhuillier?

The minimum cash-in amount is Php 100. And you cannot cash out from Cebuana, but you can still cash-out from other channels, using this guide.

Can I remit money from my GCash account to Cebuana Lhuillier?

Unfortunately, Cebuana can only process GCash cash-in. The cash-in receiver should have a GCash account.

What are the fees in cashing in?

For 7-11 cash-ins, there is a 1% fee of the total cash-in amount. For example, if you cash in Php 1000, the fee will be Php 10, and the total amount of Php 990 will be credited or added to your balance. This fee always comes first as it is a 7-11 collected fee.

GCash cash-in for partner outlets is free for the first Php 8000 per month. When the amount goes over the Php 8000 limit, it will incur a 2% fee. This limit refreshes every first day of the month.

For example:
Today, you cashed in Php 7000. There is no fee since it is still below the Php 8000 limit.

The next day, you cashed in Php 2500. Since you went over the limit, there is a fee included with the cash-in but only for the amount over the limit.

The cash-in that has the fee applied is the amount over 8000 this month:
Php 8000 - Php 7000 = Php 1000

Then we subtract from the amount you are cashing in:
Php 2500 - Php 1000 = Php 1500

The fee is 2% of the amount. 
Php 1500 * 0.02 = Php 30

So the total cash-in with the fee would be:
Php 2500 - Php 30 = Php 2470

Any later cash-ins for this month will have a 2% fee after this.

If you are cashing in 7-11, and you’ve exceeded the Php 8000 limit, the 1% fee goes first (7-11 fee), then the 2% goes after (GCash fee).

For example, if you are cashing in Php 1000 in 7-11 after exceeding the Php 8000 limit, the cash-in fee for 7-11 applies first:
Php 1000 - Php 10 (1% of Php 1000) = Php 990

Afterwards, the 2% fee from GCash applies:
Php 990 - Php 19.80 (2% of Php 990) = Php 970.20

The net cash-in amount is Php 970.20.

Once you are near the limit, you will receive a notification in your Inbox informing you of the charges once you go past the limit.

Please take note that this is only for manual cash-ins — remittances and bank cash-ins are not included.

If you want to know how to circumvent this fee, you can refer to my fees page to see alternative solutions.

What branches support GCash cash-in?

All Cebuana Lhuillier branches nationwide supports GCash cash-in.

Does Cebuana Lhuillier offer GCash Mastercard for purchase?

No, You can buy it from the app, Globe Stores, or convenience stores.

Is Cebuana Lhuillier a GCash Remit partner?

GCash Remit is a product that enables international remittances to be cashed straight into your GCash account. Unfortunately, Cebuana is not a partner. The list of remittance partners for GCash Remit are in here.

Does the receiver need to be Fully Verified to receive cash-ins?

You can still cash-in even if you are a Basic Level User, but you will be limited to Php 50,000 a month. However, a Fully Verified receiver can receive a higher limit of Php 100,000 total per month to maximize your account.

What IDs can I use to cash-in?

Here is the GCash accepted list of IDs. If your ID is not in this list, it would be better to file a ticket with GCash Support.

Can I transfer from my Cebuana Micro-savings account to GCash?

Yes, you can do it via the e-Cebuana app (taken from this link). Here are the steps:

1. Under Services tab, go to Send Money
2. Click on Send Money to Other Banks
3. Click on “Start Transfer”
4. Select GCash from the list of banks
5. Input the account details (account number is your GCash number)
6. Input the one-time-PIN to confirm the transfer

Summary

Cebuana Lhuillier has always been a pawnshop that supports lower income Filipinos in many ways — from their pawning and remittances services, to their microbank and microfinance offerings. GCash support is also a good way to make the unbanked use GCash more. You can do cash-ins with GCash in all Cebuana branches.

If you want to know about other cash-in and cash out options, here are some related posts:

• Cashing in and out via over the counter options
• Cashing in and out via self-serve kiosks
• GCash and 7-11
• Cashing in Palawan Pawnshop

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