How to: Travel Philippines Without Cash

Here is how we navigated the cash-based economy in the Philippines for a month while barely using the ATMs – saving ourselves the fees and the hassle of carrying change in our pockets.

If you are travelling in the Philippines now, or planning your trip, you will see locals scanning QR codes and hear this term almost everywhere: “GCash.” In rural shops, on ferries, tuktuk drivers, and even at the smallest local businesses: “GCash?”

The Problem With Cash in the Philippines

In the Philippines, most people transact using GCash as opposed to paper money. This largely because they can use it to pay their bills, send money to friends (like Venmo or Revolut), for shopping and even for investing. Since its conception in 2004, GCash’s website reports that over 94 million Filipinos use the app. That is over 80% of the entire population of the Philippines!

Why are electronic payment methods popular in the Philippines?

There are a few reasons that we noticed, but the most obvious to us was this:

Traditional cash in the Philippines is a combination of both paper and coins. Carrying around a combination of coins and paper is cumbersome and inconvenient for people who spend many hours on motorbikes, in the ocean, and at the beach. If a 20 PHP coin slides out of your pocket in to the beach sand, that could mean you don’t have money for the jeepney or bus home.

Plus, the younger population in the Philippines means people are very familiar and comfortable using their cell phones.

Whenever a Filipino has their phone on them, they also have their wallet (without actually needing their wallet) – and life gets that much easier.

Do electronic payments make sense for tourists in the Philippines?

In our experience, there are two reasons why we found dealing in cash to be inconvenient while in the Philippines, and conversely, why e-payments made sense for us:

Cost Savings

Firstly, in the Philippines, most ATMs limit withdrawals to 10,000 PHP (~$150) and charge a 150 PHP (~$5 fee). So, using Moreta Pay/GCash for $250 in digital “cash” at no fee saves at least two ATM trips and $10 in fees (adding $250+ to your Moreta Pay app eliminates the standard $1 fee or 0.4%).

Time Savings

Then, there is the time saving piece. By using e-payments, we saved ourselves the time of searching for ATMs and the headache of using them – sometimes frustratingly being told at the end of a transaction that the ATM is out of order.

Then, there was the time-saving piece of counting cash to make exact change while shopping in markets or at busy street-food vendors. We weren’t fumbling around with these unfamiliar bills and coins and holding up business.

We simply scanned, showed the receipt, and moved on.

What is G-Cash?

GCash is a way of paying directly from one Filipino bank account to another and it is extremely common amongst Filipinos. But what most visitors (and locals) don’t know is this: Moreta Pay allows you to do the same thing without needing a Filipino bank account.

Below, we will show you how to use Moreta Pay to pay using GCash like a local when you are in the Philippines.

How does Moreta Pay Work?

Moreta pay works like a hybrid combining Revolut, Apple Pay, and Venmo.

1. Add money in your home currency ($250+ gets added without the standard $1 fee)
2. You will have immediate access to $100 USD, and the rest of the deposit usually follows in 3-5 business days
3. You simply pay in local currency by either scanning vendor’s QR code or using the “Bank Transfer” feature (which works like Zelle)

How to Pay using GCash?

For most business owners, they will have a small cutout of a GCash QR code near the cash register. In this case, using Moreta Pay to pay using GCash is about as simple as it gets:

1. Open Moreta Pay (assuming you have internet)
2. Hit the “Pay” Blue Circle button centered at the bottom of the app
3. Scan QR code using the app’s scanner
4. Type in the due amount
5. Slide slider to confirm payment amount
6. Show vendor the resulting receipt QR code for their record keeping
   • Tip: Most vendors like to take a picture of the receipt

In some instances (especially for those vendors without a traditional cash register), you may need to ask if they accept GCash. In our experience, 9 times out of 10, they do. BUT, they may not have the QR code.

In this case, you will pay them using their phone number:

1. Open Moreta Pay
2. Hit the “Pay” Blue Circle button centered at the bottom of the app
3. Tap the “Bank Transfer” button
4. Tap the “Bank Name” dropdown, search and select GCash
5. Enter the vendor’s first and last names
   • Tip: If you don’t want to ask the vendor for their name or if they don’t want to share it, you can simply make up a convenient name for your own tracking of the transaction
     • Example: First Name: “tricycle” Last Name: “to airport”
6. Enter the vendor’s phone number
7. Type in the due amount
8. Slide slider to confirm payment amount
9. Show vendor the resulting receipt QR code for their record keeping

How Much Money Did We Save?

Using Moreta Pay in the Philippines saved us over $115.

We stayed in the Philippines for one month (30 Days) and spent about $3,400.

So, some quick math shows how much money we saved by using GCash instead of the ATMs:

$3,400 (total for one month) / $150 (max withdrawal per ATM trip) = approx. 23 ATM trips

At the standard fee on foreign cards of $5 per ATM transaction:

$5 x 23 ATM trips = $115 saved purely from ATM fees

Plus the time and headache we saved from running out of cash, making change, finding ATMs, etc.

Pros and Cons of Using Moreta Pay and GCash

While it is super convenient and easy to use, relying solely on Moreta Pay and GCash while in the Philippines is also not a good idea. Below you can find our list of pros and cons for e-payments in the Philippines so that you can decide for yourself if it is something you want to use for your own trip.

Pros of Using Moreta Pay as GCash in Philippines:

1. No fumbling cash or change
2. Always have “cash” on you, even when you leave your wallet in your hotel room
3. Fewer ATM visits
4. Save money
5. Save time
6. No local bank account required
7. Easier budgeting

Cons of Using Moreta Pay as GCash in Philippines:

1. Data required
2. Not EVERY vendor accepts it (have backup cash)
3. Small fees applied to each transaction (0.1%)
4. $1 fee for adding less than $250
5. Cash is king in negotiations

Would We Use Moreta Pay in the Philippines Again?

In conclusion, 100% yes we would use Moreta Pay in the Philippines again. We saved ourselves loads of time and a significant amount of the WORST kind of money: ATM fees. While its not the perfect solution for traveling in the Philippines, especially in areas with spotty service and wifi, Moreta Pay came in clutch for us about 80% of the time.

And, of course, there was the proud feeling of paying like a local every time a Filipino asked us:

“You have GCash?! I thought it was only for Filipinos.”

“Yeah, we have Moreta Pay, and it works the same way.”