Gcash? Can I load it with US bank account?

I loaded my Gcash account with from my Wells Fargo checking account using Western Union. WU actually has decent transfer rates and it cost $1.99 per transfer if you use your debit card. Transfers directly from bank accounts are free but takes 0-4 business days. My Gcash account was hacked, but it was my fault.

I prefer Maya myself. I also load Maya with WU and use it to load Gigalife for my internet and Lazada wallet. When I transfer money to Maya I get the following text:

"You boosted your Savings interest to 6% p.a. until (2 weeks from transfer). It'll start appearing in your Savings history tomorrow as 4.5% interest earned (Up to P5M) plus 1.5% bonus interest (up to P100,000). No Savings? Open now and deposit by midnight to earn 6% p.a. daily! Promo until Feb. 28, 2023."

Maybe it will earn enough interest to cover the $1.99 transfer fee WU charges when using debit cards. I just checked and the WU transfer rate is 54.49 compared to Remitly's 53.69.

@Moon Dog ok, not sure I totally get you. So you had a GCash acct. But to load it you had to send from bank through western union with Gcash as recpient? Sounds like two middlemen when paying Electric bill then. ugh.

@Larry Fisher I would pay cebeco with maya. I load maya by using remitly to transfer from my us bank account to maya (free) and then paying with the maya app. It is a 2 step process but it is fast and efficient. I don't mess with gcash due to the problems in getting a verified account; i have an srrv card and they are looking fir an acr-i card, they keep rejecting my passport photo etc.. but getting verified by maya was no problem.

@Larry Fisher Danfinn answered your question, it is two step but no cost. If I want to transfer dollars to a peso account directly from my bank there may be considerable cost like when I use my Wells Fargo credit card in the Philippines there are two charges, and one is a percentage fee.

Western Union is free if it is coming directly from your bank account but takes a couple days to clear. If you need it instantly use your debit card and pay $1.99. The transaction fee is higher if you use a credit card. I use Remitly sometimes but it isn't as good as it used to be. Cash pickups over $1,000 were free a year or so ago and the exchange rate was very good but then they started charging $3.99 per transfer and then upped it to $4.99. WU typically gives you around 1 peso per dollar better exchange rate so that is what I use to load Maya. It is sometimes called PayMaya but Maya and PayMaya are the same as far as I know.

Bah! Started signing up for Maya. Requires Phils phone number which I don't have. I'm still on T-Mobile with 1 more year to pay for my phone to be free (S22 ultra). I like keeping T-Mobile as I text friends home  freely, get MLB-TV for free and a few other benefits. I suppose I could use my honey's phone #. But I need to go get my I-card and open a Philippine bank account too.

It’s nice to have a Phils phone number. You could buy a cheap prepaid phone.

It’s nice to have a Phils phone number. You could buy a cheap prepaid phone.
-@Moon Dog

Right on, I have a cheap cheap phone and occasional reloads are cheap cheap. The phone is only used when I need to receive a sms  code sent to me in order to log into some accounts.

It’s nice to have a Phils phone number. You could buy a cheap prepaid phone.
-@Moon Dog

Exactly. I have an iPhone on T-mobile because I like the ease of US connection when I'm here and their Max 55+ plan is a great deal, with international coverage, but I don't use it a lot as they only give you 5GB of data per month at normal speeds..

So I also have an older Samsung Note 10 that I use for daily usage with Globe and Smart sim cards because the prepaid data promos are so cheap here, and also it's a "local" number so easy to call and text with locals, hotels, businesses, etc. Took the scooter in the other day for oil change and they just called me when it was done.

@pnwcyclist I'm like you, Magenta Max 55+ x two phones. My 2nd is the Note 10 also. But I really don't want three! heh. I like the note 10 as it's also a backup 4g phone that hotspots my laptop if out wired internet goes down. I even hotspot the smart tv with it if needed.