If family abroad sends you money, claiming it in GCash costs you nothing, but an unclaimed transfer expires after 90 days. GCash's cash-in fee page says "sending and claiming remittance is FREE," and its claiming guide sets the 90-day deadline.
GCash is one of four common ways to receive a remittance in the Philippines. The others are Maya, a bank account, and cash pickup at a pawnshop or remittance counter. Each one needs different details from you and has different limits. This guide covers all four, using the providers' own help pages, so you can tell your sender exactly what to choose.
Which channel fits you
| Channel | What you need | Cost to you | Main limit to watch |
|---|
| GCash wallet | Fully Verified account, reference number | Free to claim | ₱1,000,000 a month incoming (Fully Verified) |
| Maya wallet | Upgraded account, MTCN or reference number | No receiver fee listed by Maya | ₱100,000 monthly wallet balance (upgraded) |
| Bank account | Account number, name that matches the account | Bank receiving charges may apply | Set by the sending service and your bank |
| Cash pickup | Valid government photo ID, reference number | No receiver fee listed by Western Union | Set per pickup partner |
The rest of this guide explains each row, with the source for every number.
Receiving money in GCash
Before your sender pays
GCash will only release a remittance to a Fully Verified account. Your sender must also type your name exactly as it is registered in GCash, according to the same guide. A Basic account cannot claim. It can also hold only ₱10,000 and receive only ₱5,000 a month.
The sender must also use an official GCash remittance partner. GCash keeps a country-by-country list of official partners. For example, it lists Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria Money for Saudi Arabia, and Lulu Exchange, Remitly and Taptap Send for the UAE. For Japan, it lists SBI Remit and Kabayan Remit. Ask your sender to check that list first. GCash's troubleshooting guide says it "cannot track or process" a transfer sent through a partner that is not on the list. In that case, the sender has to chase the remittance company for a refund.
Paano mag-claim ng remittance sa GCash?
These are the steps from GCash's help center:
- Open the GCash app and tap Cash In.
- Tap Global Banks and Partners.
- Choose the remittance partner your sender used.
- Enter the expected amount, the reference number and the purpose. Tap Proceed.
- Review the details and tap Next.
- Enter the 6-digit code sent to your mobile number.
If the details match, the money appears in your wallet right away. If you enter a wrong reference number three times, you have to wait 24 hours before trying again.
How much GCash can receive
GCash updated its limits on October 1, 2026. Its wallet and transaction limits page lists these figures for a Fully Verified adult:
- Wallet limit (the most you can hold at one time): ₱1,000,000
- Incoming limit: ₱1,000,000 a month
- Outgoing limit: ₱1,000,000 a month, and ₱500,000 a day
The monthly limits reset on the 1st of each month. If you have several GCash accounts under one profile, they share one limit. They do not add up to a higher total.
The sending service can set a lower cap. Western Union's Philippine page for mobile wallets caps payouts to GCash and Maya at ₱100,000 per transaction. It also lists a ₱100,000 monthly total for those wallets. That is lower than GCash's own limit, so a family sending more through Western Union may need to use a bank account or cash pickup instead.
If the money does not arrive
GCash's missing-money guide gives this order of checks:
- Look in your GCash Transactions for "Received Remittance" within 10 minutes of claiming.
- If it is missing, the transfer may have failed. GCash says failed remittances go back to the sender within 2 business days.
- If the sender still has no refund after 2 business days, use Contact Support in that guide. GCash says its team replies within 24 hours.
Freelancers paid in US dollars
Not every payment from abroad is a family remittance. If a US client or platform pays you, GCash offers a Virtual US Account. This is a US account number and routing number (the code that identifies a US bank) that sits inside your GCash app. Its help page lists these terms:
- ACH transfer (the standard US bank transfer): free, arrives in 1 to 3 business days
- Wire transfer: same day, but USD 15 (around ₱960) is deducted, and wires below USD 15 are rejected
- No limit on receiving US dollars. Converting to pesos follows your normal GCash limits.
By our math, a USD 300 (around ₱19,200) client payment sent by wire loses 5% to the fee (15 ÷ 300). The same payment by ACH loses nothing, so ask the client for ACH when you can wait a few days. GCash lists Wise, Payoneer, Upwork, Deel, Gusto and PayPal among the services that can send to it. The account holder name must match your GCash profile exactly.
Receiving money in Maya
Maya also requires a step up from a basic account. Its Western Union page tells you to upgrade your account and check your limits before you receive. Its Remitly page says the account upgrade is free and is required for international remittances.
To claim a Western Union transfer, follow these steps from Western Union's wallet page and Maya's own page:
- In the Maya app, tap Add Money (some Maya pages call it Cash in).
- Choose Western Union from the list of partners.
- Enter the 10-digit MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number, Western Union's tracking number) from your sender.
- Check the MTCN, sender name and amount, then tap Receive.
- Wait for the in-app and SMS confirmation.
For the limit, Maya's account limits page lists a ₱100,000 monthly wallet balance limit for an upgraded account, compared with ₱50,000 for a basic one. Maya notes that limits can change, so check Account Limits in the app before a large transfer. If a transfer goes wrong, Maya's Remitly page directs you to support@maya.ph.
Maya also lets you collect a Western Union remittance as cash at a Maya Center, according to Maya's Western Union page.
Receiving money straight to a bank account
Most international services can pay into a Philippine bank account. Western Union, for example, credits BDO, BPI, Landbank and Metrobank accounts directly, according to its Philippine receive-money page. Give your sender:
- your full name, exactly as it appears on the bank account
- the bank name and account number
- the purpose of the remittance
- your address and mobile number
The account must be a peso (local-currency) account. Western Union says the money usually arrives within minutes. First-time BPI receivers may wait up to 2 hours. Landbank transfers sent between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Philippine time may be delayed.
Wise's Philippine page needs your full name, bank name and a 6-to-18-digit account number. Wise says amounts up to ₱50,000 arrive almost instantly after it converts the money, while larger amounts usually take 1 to 2 working days. It allows up to ₱9,000,000 per transfer to a bank when the sender lives outside the Philippines. Transfers to wallets such as GCash and Maya are capped at ₱49,999 each. So by our math, ₱120,000 for tuition would need three separate wallet transfers, but only one bank transfer.
The receiving fee on a bank wire
A traditional bank-to-bank wire (SWIFT, the global network banks use to send money to each other) can cost the receiver money. BPI's inward remittance fee page lists a ₱150 minimum service charge when a SWIFT remittance is credited to a BPI peso account. For a US-dollar account, the charge is USD 6.50 (around ₱420). BPI says the money is credited after fees are deducted, and banks in between may take their own charges.
By our math, ₱150 is 1.5% of a ₱10,000 transfer, but only 0.3% of ₱50,000. For small, frequent amounts, a remittance app that pays into your wallet or account is often cheaper than a bank wire. Check your own bank's fee table, because charges differ by bank.
Cash pickup at a pawnshop or remittance counter
Cash pickup still works well if you do not have an e-wallet or bank account. For Western Union, you need the sender's details, the MTCN and a government-issued photo ID, according to Western Union Philippines. Western Union's wallet page lists its Philippine customer line as 02-8888-1200 (Metro Manila), open 24 hours.
WorldRemit's Philippine cash pickup page gives more detail on what to bring:
- one valid government ID (Metrobank asks for two)
- your full legal name, matching your ID exactly
- the 8-digit reference number sent by SMS and email
- at Palawan, M Lhuillier and Cebuana, the purpose of the transfer and your relationship to the sender
WorldRemit also lists a cap per transfer at each partner. Examples are ₱50,000 at Cebuana Lhuillier, ₱100,000 at Palawan, ₱250,000 at M Lhuillier and ₱500,000 at Metrobank. Other services set their own caps, so ask your sender which one applies.
Cebuana Lhuillier's FAQ says remittances from its international partners can be claimed at any branch. Remitly's Philippine page lists M Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier, LBC and USSC among its delivery partners, and says the receiver does not need a Remitly account.
Before you share your details
Only share your reference number or MTCN with the person who sent the money. Never post it in a group chat. If you get a text about a "pending remittance" from someone you were not expecting money from, check with your family directly first. You can report suspicious messages using our guide to reporting scam texts.
Peso conversions in this guide use about ₱64 to the US dollar, close to Wise's mid-market rate on October 28, 2026.
