To send money to the Philippines with MAJORITY, pick the Philippines in the app, choose mobile wallet, enter your recipient's GCash or PayMaya details, and confirm.
Quick answer
MAJORITY sends money to the Philippines by mobile wallet. If you came here looking for a bank transfer to a Philippine bank account, the short answer is that bank transfer is not a delivery method on this destination, and mobile wallet is. You open the app, select the Philippines, choose the wallet your recipient uses, enter the Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to along with your recipient's full legal name, then confirm. The money arrives in Philippine pesos (PHP) at our competitive exchange rate, and the app shows the estimated delivery time before you confirm.
Why there is no bank transfer option for the Philippines
Delivery methods differ by destination. On some destinations MAJORITY deposits into a local bank account. On the Philippines, it does not. The Philippines destination is served by mobile wallet, and the app will not offer you a bank account field, an account number field, or a list of receiving institutions, because there is nothing behind them.
That is worth stating plainly rather than leaving you to discover it partway through a send. If your recipient in the Philippines holds a bank account and no wallet, the practical answer is that they open a mobile wallet, which in the Philippines is a common thing to hold alongside a bank account rather than instead of one. Both of the wallets MAJORITY supports let the holder move money out to their own bank account from inside the wallet app once it lands, so a recipient who prefers their balance in a bank account is not stuck.
The wallets supported on this destination are GCash and PayMaya. Which of the 2 you pick depends entirely on which one your recipient already uses. There is no advantage to one over the other from your side as the sender.
What you need to know
- Mobile wallet is the delivery method for the Philippines. Your recipient receives the money into their GCash or PayMaya balance, not into a bank account and not over a counter.
- Your recipient needs an active, verified wallet registered to a Philippine mobile number. An unverified or newly created wallet can hit a receiving limit set by the wallet itself, which is a limit on their side rather than on the transfer.
- You need 3 pieces of information: which of the 2 wallets they use, the Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to, and their full legal name as it is registered on the wallet.
- The money arrives in Philippine pesos (PHP). Your dollars are converted at our competitive exchange rate, and the app shows the PHP amount your recipient will receive before you confirm.
- The app shows the estimated delivery time before you confirm, alongside the amount and the wallet details you entered.
- With a MAJORITY membership you pay a $0 MAJORITY transfer fee, and the Philippines carries no destination fee.
What information you need from your recipient
Before you start the transfer in the app, collect these details from your recipient. Confirming them in writing (chat, email, or text) is the easiest way to avoid a typo on the receiving side, and a wallet number is short enough that a single wrong digit is easy to miss.
- Which wallet. GCash or PayMaya. Ask rather than assume. Plenty of people in the Philippines hold both and use one of them far more than the other, so ask which one they actually check.
- The registered mobile number. The Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to. Philippine mobile numbers are 11 digits starting with 09, or the same number written in international format starting with +63 and dropping the leading 0. Enter it the way the app asks for it, and do not trim the leading digits.
- Full legal name. Exactly as it is registered on the wallet. Wallet registrations in the Philippines are identity-verified, so a name that does not match what the wallet holds can hold up the deposit. Middle names and married surnames are the usual mismatch.
- Whether the wallet is verified. A fully verified wallet has higher balance and receiving limits than a basic one. If your recipient has never completed verification inside their wallet app, ask them to do it before you send a larger amount.
If a detail is wrong, the deposit may be rejected and the money returned to you. The cleanest fix is to confirm the details with your recipient before you confirm the transfer in the app, not after.
Delivery method comparison on the Philippines destination
The Philippines destination is mobile wallet only. The choice you make is which wallet, not which delivery method. The table below sets out what each one asks of your recipient.
| Wallet | What your recipient needs | When this fits |
|---|---|---|
| GCash | An active GCash account registered to a Philippine mobile number, in their own full legal name, ideally fully verified | Your recipient already uses GCash for everyday payments, bills, or transfers and checks it regularly |
| PayMaya | An active PayMaya account registered to a Philippine mobile number, in their own full legal name, ideally fully verified | Your recipient uses PayMaya as their main wallet, or holds PayMaya and not GCash |
Bank transfer to a Philippine bank account and cash pickup at a counter are not available on this destination. If your recipient wants the money in a bank account, the route is to receive it into a wallet and move it to their bank account from there.
How to send money to a mobile wallet in the Philippines, step by step
These are the steps from your side as the sender, from the moment you open the app to the moment the money is on its way.
- Open the app and sign in.
- Tap Send money and select the Philippines as the destination country.
- Enter the amount you want to send in US dollars. The app shows our competitive exchange rate, the PHP amount your recipient will receive, and the estimated delivery time before you confirm.
- Choose mobile wallet as the delivery method.
- Select your recipient's wallet, GCash or PayMaya.
- Enter the Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to, exactly as your recipient gave it to you.
- Enter your recipient's full legal name as it is registered on the wallet.
- Review the summary: the PHP amount your recipient will receive, the wallet you selected, the mobile number, the recipient name, and any cost.
- Confirm.
- Track the status in the app under your wallet or transfers tab. The status moves from Pending to Completed.
What it costs to send to the Philippines
- With a MAJORITY membership: a $0 MAJORITY transfer fee on transfers to the Philippines.
- Without a membership, sending on WhatsApp: $1.99 per transfer.
- Membership: $6.99 per month.
- Destination fee: none on the Philippines. Nothing is added on top for the destination itself.
- Currency conversion: your dollars are converted to Philippine pesos at our competitive exchange rate. The app shows the PHP amount your recipient will receive before you confirm, so you review the whole picture in one place rather than working it out yourself.
What to check before you confirm
The confirmation screen is the last point at which a mistake is cheap to fix. 4 things are worth a second look.
- The wallet. GCash and PayMaya are separate. Money sent to the wrong one does not cross over.
- The mobile number, digit by digit. This is the single field most worth re-reading. Read it back against the message your recipient sent you rather than against your memory of it.
- The name spelling. Against the wallet registration, not against how you usually write their name.
- The PHP amount and the estimated delivery time. Both are shown before you confirm. If the PHP figure is not what you and your recipient discussed, adjust the dollar amount rather than sending and topping up afterwards.
Once a transfer is confirmed and on its way, changing it is harder than checking it was right in the first place.
What ID does my recipient need on the receiving side?
Your recipient does not present an ID to receive the money, because it lands in a wallet they already hold rather than at a counter. Their identity was verified by the wallet when they registered it.
Where ID matters is wallet verification. If your recipient has only a basic wallet, completing verification inside the wallet app raises their receiving and balance limits, and it is the usual reason a deposit stalls when the number and name were both correct. The standard Philippine ID types they can use for that are:
- PhilSys ID (the Philippine national ID, sometimes shown as the PhilID)
- Passport for Philippine citizens
- Driver's license issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)
- UMID (Unified Multi-Purpose ID) for SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, or Pag-IBIG members
- Voter's ID issued by the Commission on Elections
The wallet's own requirements take precedence, so have your recipient check inside their wallet app for the list it accepts.
What ID you need on the US side to send
To send from the US, you need an active account in the app. When you opened that account, you provided a government-issued ID (a passport, a driver's license, a matrícula consular, or another accepted ID) and completed identity verification. No additional documentation is needed on the day you send money to the Philippines, beyond signing into the app with your usual credentials and confirming the transfer.
If your account asks for additional verification on a particular transfer, for example on an unusually large amount, the app prompts you in-flow. Following those prompts is the most direct way to clear the transfer.
What to do next
- Ask your recipient which wallet they use, GCash or PayMaya, and which one they actually check.
- Ask them for the Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to and their full legal name as it is registered on the wallet.
- Ask them to confirm the wallet is verified, particularly if you are sending a larger amount.
- Open the app, select the Philippines, choose mobile wallet, and enter the details.
- Review the PHP amount your recipient will receive and the estimated delivery time before you confirm.
- Track the status in the app and stay reachable in case anything is queried.
How MAJORITY can help
MAJORITY is a financial membership for migrants and newcomers in the US, and the Philippines is one of more than 30 supported money-transfer routes. The Philippines destination supports mobile wallet delivery to GCash and PayMaya. The membership is $6.99 per month and carries a $0 MAJORITY transfer fee on transfers to the Philippines, with the PHP amount your recipient will receive shown in the app before each transfer is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send a bank transfer to a Philippine bank account with MAJORITY?
No. Bank transfer is not a delivery method on the Philippines destination. MAJORITY sends to the Philippines by mobile wallet, to GCash or PayMaya. If your recipient wants the money in a bank account, they can receive it into their wallet and move it to their own bank account from inside the wallet app.
Which mobile wallets can I send to in the Philippines?
GCash and PayMaya. You pick your recipient's wallet in the app at the point of sending, then enter the Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to and your recipient's full legal name as registered on the wallet. Ask your recipient which of the 2 they use rather than guessing, since holding both and using one is common.
What information do I need from my recipient in the Philippines?
3 things: which wallet they use, the Philippine mobile number that wallet is registered to, and their full legal name exactly as it is registered on the wallet. It is also worth asking whether their wallet is fully verified, since a basic wallet has lower receiving limits.
Do I need a SWIFT code or IBAN to send money to the Philippines?
No. Sending to the Philippines through the app is a mobile wallet transfer, so there is no SWIFT code, no IBAN, and no bank account number to enter. The Philippine mobile number the wallet is registered to is what the deposit is addressed to.
What does it cost to send money to the Philippines?
With a MAJORITY membership at $6.99 per month, you pay a $0 MAJORITY transfer fee. Without a membership, sending on WhatsApp costs $1.99 per transfer. The Philippines carries no destination fee. Your dollars are converted to Philippine pesos at our competitive exchange rate, and the PHP amount your recipient will receive is shown in the app before you confirm.
What happens if I enter the wrong mobile number?
If the number does not match an active wallet, or the registered name does not match what you entered, the deposit may be rejected and the money returned to you. This is why the mobile number is the field most worth reading back against the message your recipient sent you, before you confirm rather than after.
Disclosures
The MAJORITY app facilitates banking services through Axiom Bank, N.A. ("Axiom"), Member FDIC. The funds deposited in the account held at Axiom, Member FDIC, are FDIC-insured on a pass-through basis up to $250,000 per depositor in the event Axiom fails and subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Non-deposit products or services such as money transfers and telecom services are not FDIC-insured.
MAJORITY Visa® Debit Card is issued by Axiom Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.