MANILA, Philippines – GCash users have less than two months to cash-in for free through their linked Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and UnionBank accounts.

Starting October 2, 2023, users will be charged a P5 convenience fee for every cash-in transaction using these two banks “due to increasing costs,” according to an advisory. Prior to this, cash-in transactions from these GCash linked bank accounts were free for any amount.

“To keep our services within the reach of many Filipinos, GCash has long been subsidizing significant operational expenses and these rates have been rising over time. With the increasing costs we are paying to our partners, we can no longer sustain additional subsidies particularly for cash-in transactions,” said GCash president and chief executive officer Martha Sazon during the Globe Group Q2 financial briefing.

The convenience fee for linked accounts is still more affordable than the service fees that other banks charge for cash-in transactions, which can range from P10 to P25.

“The P5 convenience fee is only 1/5 of what is normally charged by other financial institutions. As GCash continues to scale, we still subsidize most of the charges as well as heavily invest on upgrading our infrastructure and reinforcing security services. This ensures also that our operations will remain seamless for all customers,” said Sazon.

BPI users can also add funds to their GCash wallet using the funds transfer option on their BPI mobile app, although this comes with a P25 convenience fee.

UnionBank told Rappler that users can still transfer funds to GCash for free through the UnionBank online app. For a limited time until November 11, 2023, they can use InstaPay to transfer money up to P1,000 per transaction for free. They can also use PESONet to transfer funds for free, although the transaction would be subject to PESONet’s crediting lead time guidelines.

Users with other preferred banks can also cash-in through their bank’s website or app using InstaPay, subject to service fees. Meanwhile, cashing in via PayPal remains free of charge. – Rappler.com