Best Ways To Receive Money Through GCash From Abroad: The Best and Cheapest Ways

If you're a Filipino working abroad, you probably know how handy GCash is. It's a game-changer, helping the Philippines go cashless. With GCash, you can easily send money to family and friends, pay bills back home, shop online, and even get loans—all from your phone.

However, no matter where you live overseas, sending remittances back home to PHP isn't always so simple. Fortunately, in many countries, it's been getting a lot simpler lately. To send money to someone's GCash wallet from overseas, you have two options:

1. You can use GCash Overseas.
2. You can use a third-party service like Instarem or Remitly.

GCash Overseas is only available in some countries (more on this later) and although it offers great rates, it's not necessarily always the cheapest deal. If you don't live in a country where GCash Overseas is available, or if you do but you want to make sure you're getting the best deal possible anyway, use Monito's live comparison tool below. 👇

Can I Have GCash Outside of the Philippines?

Yes, GCash is available in several countries outside of the Philippines, thanks to GCash Overseas. These include the following countries (in addition to the Philippines, of course):

GCash Overseas gives you access to all of the basic GCash services you'll know from home, including sending (but not receiving) money to other GCash wallets, PHP bank transfers via Instapay Send, load recharge, bill payments, and cash services.

Remember that the only way you can use GCash Overseas is if you hold a valid Filipino passport or government-issued ID, as well as a SIM issued locally from one of the countries above.

You can learn more about GCash Overseas here.

Can I Receive Dollars to GCash From Abroad?

Yes, you can cash in US dollars to GCash, but only from a US bank account via GCash Overseas (more on this below). This means you'll need to be a resident of the United States to use this service.

Although GCash Overseas lets you link your US bank account to GCash, keep in mind that there's a $500 limit for the first cash in and a $600 limit for transactions in the first week.

Requirements for International Transfers

To receive money from abroad, you must have a Fully Verified GCash account. Only verified users can claim remittances from overseas to the Philippines. If you have a basic account, you'll need to upgrade by uploading valid identification documents through the GCash app.

How to Link Your US Bank Account With GCash

If you're a US resident, you can follow these steps to link your American bank account with GCash and cash in dollars:

1. go to the US Bank page,
2. tap Cash In,
3. enter your full name & mobile number,
4. enter the 6-digit SMS authentication code,
5. add the USD amount you want to cash in,
6. tap Send!

After you've cashed in your dollars, you'll receive the funds in PHP within 10 minutes directly in your GCash account.

How to Cash In from EU/UK Bank Accounts

To receive money from European or UK banks, follow these simple steps:

1. Open your GCash app and tap Cash In > Global Partners and Remittance
2. Select International Banks > EU or UK
3. Read the instructions and tap Cash In
4. Enter the amount you wish to cash in (in PHP) and tap Next
5. Review the transaction details and tap Confirm
6. Select your bank and proceed with login and authentication
7. After confirming your bank details, review the amount and fees, and tap Confirm

When successful, the cash-in amount will be reflected instantly in your GCash wallet in PHP.

Can GCash Receive Dollars?

Yes, GCash can receive USD transfers, but there's an important caveat. When you send USD to GCash, the money gets automatically converted to PHP using GCash's exchange rate. While this is convenient, you may not get the most competitive exchange rate.

The app is denominated in Philippine pesos and isn't yet able to support foreign currency deposits.

For better value, consider using dedicated remittance providers like Western Union, Remitly, or WorldRemit instead. These services often offer:

• More transparent and competitive exchange rates for EUR-PHP, GBP-PHP, or USD-PHP conversions
• Lower fees compared to direct bank transfers
• Better visibility into the total cost of your transfer

How to Put Money In GCash From Abroad

The best (i.e., the cheapest and fastest) way to send money to the Philippines from a country overseas is through a digital money transfer service.

GCash has partnered with many of these digital money transfer specialists. If you want to take advantage of great exchange rates and high speeds, your best course of action is to send your local currency to one of their local bank accounts. Then, it will be quickly transfer on to your recipient's GCash account.

How To Send Money to GCash in the Philippines

Here's all you need to do to send your money to a GCash account:

1. compare cheap transfer services to the Philippines with Monito,
2. sign in or sign up for an account,
3. enter transfer info (amount, recipient name),
4. select GCash as your delivery method,
5. enter your recipient’s GCash-registered name & account number,
6. confirm and pay for the transfer!

Below is a brief visual guide for getting the job done as affordably and hassle-free as possible:

Send Money to GCash Internationally With the Following Providers:

According to thousands of comparisons made on Monito, WorldRemit was, on average, the best option for Filipinos living abroad to send money to GCash back home. Remitly, Western Union, and Instarem were other cheap options. In the sections below, we explore each provider in a bit more detail.

1. WorldRemit

WorldRemit is a UK-based remittance platform that's often the fastest and cheapest way to send money to the Philippines. It supports transfers from the USA to the Philippines and many other countries worldwide, including the UK, EU, and Australia.

• Avg. Cost: ~1-2% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: In minutes.
• GCash Limits: Varies, on average ₱300,000 /transfer.
• More Info: See our full WorldRemit review or visit their website.
• Video Tutorial:

2. Remitly

Remitly is a US-based remittance platform that's most frequently the cheapest money transfer service to the Philippines on Monito's comparison. It supports transfers to GCash in the Philippines from the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, and the Eurozone.

• Avg. Cost: ~-1% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: Under 30 minutes.
• GCash Limits: $2,999 within 24 hours, $10,000 within 30 days, and $18,000 within 180 days.
• More Info: See our full Remitly review or visit their website.
• Video Tutorial:

3. Western Union

Western Union is the largest and oldest money transfer operator on the globe, offering money transfers to the Philippines from dozens of countries across the globe. Its mobile app and online transfer services have been getting progressively cheaper in recent years, and it's now often the best option for sending money to GCash on Monito.

• Avg. Cost: ~1.5% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: In minutes.
• GCash Limits: $1,500 per day.
• More Info: See our WU review or visit the website.

4. TalkRemit

TalkRemit is a great option for sending money to GCash from across the world. It's mobile-only, so you can only use it with your smartphone. TalkRemit has some of the best rates to PHP from currencies like GBP, CAD, and AUD, although it's always best to compare first before you transfer.

• Avg. Cost: ~1.5% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: In minutes.
• GCash Limits: Varies based on country.
• More Info: Visit the website.

5. TransferGo

TransferGo is frequently the cheapest way to transfer money to GCash in the Philippines from countries like the UK, Italy, and Spain on Monito.

• Avg. Cost: 1.5% - 3% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: In minutes.
• GCash Limits: Up to 10,000 GBP for card payments.
• More Info: See our TransferGo review or visit the website.

6. Instarem

Instarem is a particularly competitive money transfer service for sending money to GCash from countries in East Asia like Japan and Hong Kong where it's frequently neck-in-neck with Remitly.

• Avg. Cost: 1% - 3% to the Philippines.
• Transfer Time: In minutes.
• GCash Limits: Varies by country.
• More Info: See our Instarem review or visit the website.

Can International Banks Transfer to GCash? (Not Recommended)

Yes, banks can sometimes transfer money to GCash. This can be facilitated through various integrations with GCash and other platforms (such as InstaPay or PesoNet capabilities). Banks with this functionality and their respective SWIFT codes include:

• BPI — BOPIPHMM
• UnionBank — UBPHPHMM
• CIMB Bank — CIPHPHMM
• Maybank — MBBEPHMM

However, we highly caution against using traditional banks for sending money overseas to GCash. Transferring money internationally through traditional banks can be exceptionally expensive, with fees amounting to over 5% to 10% of the total transaction amount in many cases. This high cost is due to a combination of transaction fees, poor exchange rates, and other hidden charges that banks often apply to international transfers.

Instead, we highly encourage you to choose a money transfer specialist like Remitly to cheaply send money to a Philippine bank account. WorldRemit ranked as the second-best service to the Philippines, while Wise ranked as third.

Since rates change all the time, compare services in real-time with Monito to find the best international money transfer specialist for remittances to the Philippines.

Where To Cash Out GCash?

You finally have your money safely sent to a digital GCash account! If you want to withdraw the money to use as cash, then you have a several GCash-partners to choose from.

At the store counter, let the cashier know that you want to cash out from GCash, provide your mobile number and desired amount, present a valid ID, confirm the transaction via SMS, and then receive your cash:

Convenience Stores

• Family Mart

Pawnshops

• PeraHUB
• Villarica
• Tambunting
• Jaro Pawnshop

Supermarkets

• Puregold

Payment Facilities

• ExpressPay
• TrueMoney
• Posible

Department Stores

• SM Store
• Robinsons

Have a GCash Mastercard?

• With your GCash Mastercard, you can withdraw cash at any Bancnet or Mastercard-partner ATM across the Philippines.