Upgrading your Maya account doubles your monthly wallet balance limit from ₱50,000 to ₱100,000, and it costs nothing: Maya's upgrade guide says the company will never charge you to upgrade. If you want to know how to upgrade a Maya account, you need the app, one valid ID (or none, if you qualify for the National ID route) and a short video selfie. Maya says approval is confirmed by SMS within 24 hours.
This guide covers the six steps, the IDs Maya accepts, what the upgrade unlocks and what the often-quoted ₱500,000 limit really refers to.
What a Maya upgrade unlocks
A new Maya account starts as Basic. Maya's account limits page compares it with an Upgraded account:
| Limit | Basic | Upgraded |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly wallet balance limit | ₱50,000 | ₱100,000 |
| Purchases | ₱50,000 daily | ₱100,000 daily |
| Send money to other Maya users | none listed | ₱20,000 per transaction, ₱100,000 daily, 60 times a month |
| Bank transfer (InstaPay sending) | none listed | ₱50,000 daily, ₱100,000 monthly, 40 times a month |
| ATM withdrawal | none listed | ₱50,000 daily, 10 times a day, 60 times a month |
| Receiving from other banks via InstaPay | ₱50,000 per transaction | ₱50,000 per transaction |
The table on Maya's page shows a dash for Basic accounts on the sending, bank transfer and ATM rows. It also says the monthly limit is subject to change, so check the figures again in the app before a large transfer.
The upgrade page adds other features that need an upgraded account: instant transfers in the app, opening a savings or credit account, buying crypto, shopping with a Maya Card, and withdrawing from ATMs in the Philippines and abroad.
How the monthly limit works, with an example
Maya counts most money coming into your wallet against one monthly wallet balance limit. Its own example: a Basic user with a ₱50,000 limit who adds ₱10,000 from a Metrobank account can receive only ₱40,000 more that month through other cash-in channels.
By our math, using the same rule for an Upgraded account: if you cash in ₱60,000 this month, ₱100,000 minus ₱60,000 leaves ₱40,000 for other cash-ins until the month resets. For the cash-in channels and their per-transaction caps, see our guide to cashing in to Maya.
Who can upgrade and which IDs Maya accepts
The accepted ID list depends on who you are.
Filipino citizens aged 18 and above need one primary ID or two secondary IDs.
Primary IDs:
- Philippine National Identity Card
- ePhilID
- SSS ID (digitized, with photo)
- PRC ID
- Postal ID (issued 2015 onwards)
- Passport
- Driver's License
- UMID
Secondary IDs (you need both):
- PhilHealth ID
- TIN ID
Filipino minors aged 7 to 17 need all of these:
- one valid ID: passport, driver's license, Postal ID, Philippine National Identity Card or school ID
- a parent's or guardian's valid ID, from the accepted primary IDs
- a signed parental consent form, which you download from the upgrade page
- a PSA/NSO birth certificate
- proof of legal guardianship, if the adult is a guardian and not a parent
Foreign nationals need a passport.
Paano mag upgrade ng Maya account?
The six steps below follow Maya's official upgrade instructions:
- Open the upgrade form. Log in to the Maya app, tap your Profile, then select Upgrade Your Account.
- Enter your name and birthday. Type your full name and date of birth exactly as they appear on your National ID.
- Record the video selfie. Follow the on-screen instructions and do the gestures it asks for. Do not cover any part of your face, and keep your head inside the frame.
- Finish identity checks. If Maya verifies you, continue. If it cannot, enter your National ID number or submit another valid primary ID. Maya will then ask for another video selfie and more personal details.
- Add your details. Enter your work details, place of birth and address, where the form asks for them.
- Review and submit. Check every field, then tap Submit.
To see where your application stands, tap CHECK STATUS in your Profile. Once approved, Maya says you get an SMS confirmation within 24 hours, and an Upgraded Account check mark appears at the top of your Profile.
Can you upgrade without uploading an ID?
Yes, if you are eligible. Maya connected its sign-up process to National ID eVerify, the Philippine Statistics Authority's identity-check service. In a 3 September 2026 statement, Maya said eligible customers have been able to upgrade without photographing or uploading a physical ID since early this year.
How it works, according to Maya:
- you enter your National ID number instead of uploading an ID photo;
- Maya checks your details against government-held National ID records;
- a video selfie completes the check;
- if Maya needs more information, it asks only for the missing details.
If eVerify cannot confirm you, you continue with the regular ID upload without starting over. Maya said this change cut its overall turnaround time for customer onboarding by 84%. We covered that announcement in our report on Maya's National ID onboarding.
Maya's statement also notes that the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank) has proposed requiring the financial institutions it supervises to use National ID verification.
What does the ₱500,000 monthly limit mean?
Many people search for how to upgrade a Maya account to a ₱500,000 limit. Here is what Maya's own pages say.
The upgrade page says upgraded users can add money and spend up to ₱500,000 a month, and that the limit grows as you transact more with Maya.
The account limits table is more specific. It lists four account types:
| Account type | Monthly wallet balance limit |
|---|---|
| Basic | ₱50,000 |
| Upgraded | ₱100,000 |
| Super Users | ₱500,000 |
| Ultimate Users | ₱5,000,000 |
In short, completing the upgrade gets you to ₱100,000 a month. The ₱500,000 figure matches the Super Users tier. Neither page explains how an account moves from Upgraded to Super User or Ultimate User, beyond the upgrade page's note that the limit grows with use. There is no separate form for it on these pages. Your current limits are always shown in the app.
How to check your Maya account limits
Maya's limits guide gives these steps:
- Log in to your Maya account.
- Tap the profile button on the upper left to open the menu.
- Select Account Limits.
- Switch between the daily and monthly tabs to see each limit.
Check this after your upgrade is approved, and again before a large bank transfer. For a big transfer out of Maya, our Maya to bank transfer guide covers the fee and a free route.
Stay safe while upgrading
Maya's upgrade page states that Maya and its official representatives will never ask for your Maya password, your 16-digit card number or your One-Time Password (OTP), and will never charge you to upgrade.
So:
- do the upgrade only inside the official Maya app;
- ignore anyone who offers to upgrade your account for a fee, or asks you to send an OTP;
- if something looks wrong, call Maya's customer hotline at (+632) 8845-7788 or the domestic toll-free number 1-800-1084-57788, both listed on Maya's site.
If you have not signed up yet, Maya's create-account guide notes that your mobile number becomes your Maya account number. Register first, verify it by SMS, then follow the upgrade steps above.
