How to Cash-in from your Bank Account (and Unlock Higher Wallet Limits)

As we go towards Week 4 of the Community Quarantine, I’m getting some comments about creating a tutorial for people with bank accounts. As we all know, it’s currently a bit troublesome to go for over-the-counter cash-in options because of the different schedules for each location.

So for many people, there is no choice but to move funds through bank accounts. I’ve written this guide for those who find this unclear.

How do I cash in using non bank channels?

I have a post explaining everything about over-the-counter and self-service kiosks here.

Cashing in from Bank Channels

There are officially three ways to do this — we can either go through a bank integration, a debit card link or an Instapay send from a bank app. Take note that for the first two options, you cannot see your balance in the GCash app. I would recommend checking it beforehand before cashing in.

1. Bank Integration Cash-Ins

There are currently two bank integrations within the GCash app. If we have either BPI or UnionBank bank accounts, then it should be easier to cash-in because you don’t need to enter an OTP (one-time-password) every time you want to.

BPI is one of the first bank integrations because of its ties with Ayala Corporation and Globe Telecom. For UnionBank, they are just that tech-savvy. They have a great emphasis on tech innovations and this makes them have the best banking app in my opinion.

How do I link my BPI account to GCash?

You should have an enrolled account in BPI ExpressOnline first. If you need some pointers about how to do that, you can refer to their guide. Once you have an enrolled account, linking it in GCash is just a matter of inputting your BPI account username and password.

Here are the steps:

1. From the main GCash page, click on the Cash In button.
2. In the Cash In page, click on BPI, under Online Banks.
3. You need to enroll your account. A notice will display if you haven’t enrolled yet.
4. Enter your BPI username and password in the opt in page.
5. Once done, you will see the BPI Registration success page.

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Can I also link the same BPI or UnionBank account to another GCash account?

Yes, you can link to different GCash accounts, but please take care not to link to any unauthorized account.

How do I create an account in UnionBank? How do I link it to my GCash account?

Creating an account is easy and even verification can be done within the UnionBank app.

How do I cash-in once I’ve linked either my BPI or UnionBank account?

You can either click on the BPI or the UnionBank options and you can cash-in directly, without need for an OTP.

Is there a cash-in limit?

Initially, there is a per transaction limit of Php 10,000. But as you use it you will eventually unlock Php 50,000 per transaction. Also keep in mind that a verified GCash account has a cumulative limit of Php 100,000.

Unlocking Higher Cash-in Limits

You can unlock higher limits by linking your BPI/UnionBank or your Payoneer account/s and utilizing either GSave or GInvest with a Php 100 deposit or investment. As an alternative, you can also subscribe to GCash Pro 99 every month.

Once you do so, you will be able to unlock:

• A bigger wallet limit – Php 500,000 maximum
• Higher incoming limits – you will be able to receive up to Php 500,000 in your wallet and daily cash-ins have no limitations
• Higher outgoing limits – withdrawals will have no limitations per month, and you can withdraw up to Php 10,000 per day

You will be receiving an SMS informing you of the increased limits.

Take note that once you’ve unlinked all of your BPI/UnionBank/Payoneer accounts, the limits will revert back to what it was before.

What do I do if I encounter an error?

You can try again later as sometimes there is downtime. But if the issue persists, then you can file a support ticket with GCash support.

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2. Cash-in via Debit Card Linking

We can also link our debit cards to GCash. The difference is the user experience. Before we can cash-in we will always need to authorize the transaction via an OTP (one-time-password).

Can we link a credit card to cash-in?

Currently, we cannot add credit cards. We can only link debit cards.

Can I link a Paymaya card?

Yes, you can link any debit card from any issuer, as long as it’s connected by the Visa or Mastercard scheme.

How many cards can we link for every GCash account?

We can link a maximum of 3 cards.

Can I enroll a card that’s not under my name?

Yes, but I personally discourage this because the card owner is basically giving withdrawal access to his account.

Is there a fee using our debit card to cash-in?

Yes, starting July 6, any cash-in using your debit card will be incurring a 2.58% fee. This will be on top of the amount you’re cashing in. This is due to the payment partner not being subsidized anymore as the amount of GCash users has reached the tipping point.

For example, if you are cashing in Php 1,000, the total amount that will be withdrawn is Php 1,025.80. The extra Php 25.80 will be the convenience fee for that particular transaction.

Some free cash-in alternatives you can do is:

• Cash in using the direct bank transfer method (via BPI or UnionBank linked accounts).
• Over-the-counter cash-in, until the first Php 8,000. You can use another account to have another Php 8,000 limit. The maximum number of accounts a user can have is currently five.
• Cash-in using Paymaya (currently it’s still free), then do a bank transfer to your GCash account.
• Since we’re still in quarantine, some bank transfers via Instapay in bank apps are still free.
• Cash in your CIMB app once you’ve linked it to your GSave, and withdraw from within the GCash app.

How do we link our debit card to GCash?

Basically you need your debit card on hand to be able to add it in GCash. You will also need to input an OTP from your bank to authorize the link.

Here are the steps:

1. From the GCash main page, click the Cash In button.
2. In the Cash In page, click on Bank Cards.
3. You can then add a card in the page after. Click on Add Card.
4. Enter your debit card details and add the card.
5. You will be receiving an SMS once linking is successful.

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What do I do if my debit card link failed?

You can try to link it again later. If the error is technical, you may need to file a ticket with GCash support. But if the error is from the bank, then you will need to settle it with the bank yourself.

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3. Instapay Sending from Bank App

The third option is via Instapay sending using your bank app. You can use any banking app as long as it supports Instapay, not PESONet.

What’s the difference between PESONet and Instapay?

The main difference is the speed and the amount being transferred. Instapay has a Php 50,000 amount limit per transaction, but the speed you can send the amount is instant, hence the name.

PESONet has no set amount limit because it is used for volume transactions. Because of this, the clearing time is longer and can take up to a day to process.

For GCash, it currently only supports Instapay receiving from other banks.

Can I send to GCash from other digital wallets like Paymaya, Coins.ph and GrabPay?

Yes, since most of them also implement Instapay sending.

Are there any fees in using Instapay to send to my GCash wallet from the bank app?

Yes, but since we are all in quarantine, some banks have waived all fees.

Normally here are the fees for the different banks. Here are the transaction fees for the different banks if you initiate a transfer using their individual apps:

Here are the InstaPay fees for most banks (as of Aug 31, 2022):

• AUB: Php 8
• BDO: Php 25
• BPI: Php 25
• Chinabank: Php 15
• Coins.ph (DCPay): Php 10
• East West: Php 10
• Landbank: Php 25
• Maybank: Php 10
• Metrobank: Php 25
• Paymaya: Php 15
• PBCom: Php 20
• PNB: 50
• PSBank: Php 15
• RCBC: Php 25
• Union Bank: Php 10

You can also refer to the BSP Instapay fees list if your preferred bank is not here.

How do I initiate a bank transfer from my banking app to my GCash wallet?

Generally you need to find the Send to Bank option within the app, and look for “G-XChange, Inc” or “GCash” in the options. The account number is your GCash mobile number, and the account name is your registered name.

As I have only BDO, Metrobank and PSBank apps, I cannot add screenshots for the other banking apps.

BDO

Metrobank

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PSBank

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Other Questions

Is there a fee when cashing in using bank and debit card?

Unlike over-the-counter cash-in which has a 2% fee when you go over Php 8,000 in a month, bank and debit card cash-ins have no fees.

As for Instapay receive from banks, they are subject to the transaction fees by the bank you are initiating Instapay from.

Summary

I’ve talked about the three ways you can cash-in to your GCash account via bank channels. You can either use the BPI or UnionBank integration with GCash, enroll your debit card to GCash or transfer via Instapay to GCash from your respective bank app or digital wallet.

Once you’ve cashed in, you may be looking for ways to use GCash. Here are some other posts I recommend:

• Paying for Food Delivery Apps (FoodPanda, GrabFood)
• Paying for Delivery Apps (GrabExpress, Lalamove)
• GCash x Codashop
• GCash and Streaming Apps (Netflix, Youtube Premium, etc)

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