Buy crypto with cash in the Philippines: every way to turn pesos into coins

Reviewed by the Crypto Philippines Editorial TeamUpdated September 28, 2026 · 11 min read

To buy crypto with cash in the Philippines, you either pay pesos at a licensed walk-in counter such as Moneybees, which sends the coins to your wallet, or you cash in to a licensed app first: ₱25 at a pawnshop for Coins.ph, or over the counter for GCash and Maya. Then you buy inside the app. Bitcoin ATMs are not a realistic option.

That second route, cash into an e-wallet and then crypto in the app, is how most Filipinos do it, and it is often cheaper than any machine ever was. The trick is picking the right route for your amount. ₱2,000 of Bitcoin and ₱800,000 of USDT are completely different errands, with different fees, limits and paperwork. This guide covers every realistic cash-to-crypto path we could verify in September 2026. If you want to compare the apps themselves, start with our list of the best crypto exchanges in the Philippines.

Which cash route fits your amount

A rough rule we use. Under ₱8,000 a month, GCash or Maya over-the-counter cash-in costs nothing and the crypto is one tap away. From ₱8,000 up to about ₱50,000 per transaction, a pawnshop cash-in to Coins.ph at ₱25 flat is hard to beat. From ₱50,000 to a few hundred thousand pesos in a day, a Moneybees counter lets you hand over cash and walk out with coins in your wallet. For amounts in the millions, you are in OTC territory, and our crypto OTC guide explains how the desks work.

Whatever the amount, stick to providers on the BSP’s list of licensed virtual asset service providers. As of 15 July 2026 that means Coins.ph, Maya, Moneybees, PDAX, TopJuan, WIBS PHP, GoTyme and UnionBank. GCash is not on the list itself, but its GCrypto feature runs on PDAX, which is.

Every way to turn peso bills into crypto

Here are the six routes side by side. Fees and limits come from each provider’s own pages unless we say otherwise.

*GCash cash-in figures come from GCash Help Center search snippets, since the page could not be loaded. Some outlets also add their own fee of about 1%. Check the app before you pay.

Buying at a Moneybees counter, step by step

Moneybees Forex Corp. is a BSP-licensed VASP headquartered at McKinley Hill, Taguig. It doesn’t run machines. Instead, staff at partner money changers and pawnshops take your pesos and send crypto “directly to your chosen crypto wallet”, as its website puts it, and its outlet page lists every counter with hours. Coins handled at the Tambunting branches include BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT and BCH. Here is how a visit goes.

1. Pick an outlet and call ahead

   The Moneybees outlet list shows 29 counters with addresses and hours, such as Glorietta 2 in Makati, Trinoma in Quezon City and Market! Market! in BGC. Many pawnshop counters open weekdays only, so confirm crypto service is running that day.

2. Prepare your wallet address

   Open the receive screen in your own wallet or licensed app, choose the coin and the exact network, and have the address ready as a QR code. A wrong network can mean lost coins.

3. Bring ID and fill in the KYC form

   Level 1 needs a KYC form and one government ID, for up to ₱200,000 a day. Level 2 adds proof of address (₱1M/day), Level 3 proof of income (₱5M/day), Level 4 proof of source of funds (above ₱5M).

4. Ask for the rate and compare

   Moneybees advertises no additional fees, so the cost sits in the quoted rate. Check the live price in a licensed app on your phone first and work out the gap in pesos.

5. Pay, check the address, keep the receipt

   Hand over the cash, confirm the address the staff enter matches yours character by character, and keep the receipt. It is your record for tax and disputes.

6. Confirm arrival before you leave

   Wait until the transaction shows in your wallet. Save the transaction hash with your receipt.

About 23 of the 29 listed counters are in Metro Manila or next door in Cainta. Outside the capital there are two in Davao City, one in Liloan north of Cebu City, and a few in Bataan and Camarines Sur. Moneybees also announced crypto service in 97 Tambunting pawnshop branches in April 2024, but we could not review that full branch list. Our city pages for Quezon City, Cebu City and Davao City list the nearest verified counters.

Cash in to Coins.ph at a pawnshop or remittance centre

For amounts up to ₱50,000, this is the cheapest cash route we found. Coins.ph (Betur Inc.) is a BSP-licensed VASP and e-money issuer, and it takes cash through remittance partners using a Dragonpay reference. According to its help centre (updated 3 August 2026), the fee is ₱25 at every partner and the money arrives within about 10 minutes. Per-transaction limits differ: ₱100 to ₱50,000 at Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier and Villarica, and ₱100 to ₱20,000 at Palawan Pawnshop and Pera Hub.

Two catches. First, the old 7-Eleven route is gone: Coins.ph says CLiQQ cash-in is no longer available. Second, your account level caps everything. A Basic account can deposit only ₱10,000 a day and can’t send or receive crypto at all. Verify with an ID and selfie and the daily limit rises to ₱1 million. Once the pesos land, Convert lets you buy BTC, ETH, USDT or USDC from ₱60. Our guide on how to buy Bitcoin in the Philippines covers the in-app steps.

GCash and Maya over-the-counter cash-in

If you already live in GCash or Maya, this is the path of least resistance. GCash says it has over 413,000 partner outlets. Its help centre, which we could only read through search snippets, describes free over-the-counter cash-ins up to ₱8,000 a month and a 2% fee after that, with the threshold resetting monthly. Once the pesos are in your wallet, moving them into GCrypto is free, and a Fully Verified account can top up GCrypto with up to ₱100,000 a day. The buy price includes GCash’s fees and spread. See our GCash crypto guide for the details.

Maya publishes its rules on its own cash-in page: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, Ministop and Alfamart; SM, Robinsons and other supermarkets; Palawan Express, Cebuana and RD pawnshops; LBC, Bayad Center and ECPay; Mercury Drug; and kiosks such as TouchPay. Cash-in is free up to ₱8,000 a month, then carries a 2% convenience fee, and fully upgraded accounts can cash in up to ₱100,000. Maya is itself a licensed VASP and lets you buy crypto from ₱1 with “no transaction fees”, which means the cost is in the spread. Our Maya crypto guide explains how to check it.

Do the maths on the 2%. ₱20,000 cashed in over the counter in one month means ₱12,000 above the free threshold, so about ₱240 in fees. The same ₱20,000 through a Coins.ph pawnshop cash-in costs ₱25.

Bank counter deposit, then InstaPay

If you have a bank account, depositing cash at the branch and transferring online is simple and usually free. The BSP’s summary of transfer fees as of 31 August 2026 shows BPI, BDO, Security Bank, Metrobank, RCBC and UnionBank charging nothing for InstaPay or PESONet. Coins.ph adds no fee on its side, and direct transfers from UnionBank, Sterling Bank and Security Bank are free. InstaPay caps each transfer at ₱50,000, so bigger amounts go by PESONet, which clears in batches on banking days. Coins.ph does not accept checks, wire deposits or other non-cash deposits.

Face-to-face cash meetups: why we don’t recommend them

Facebook and Telegram groups still offer “cash for USDT, meet-up anywhere in Metro Manila”. The appeal is obvious: no app, no ID, instant. The risks are just as obvious once you have seen a case. In July 2026 a trader met a buyer on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay, and sent 60,000 USDT, about ₱3.7 million. The buyer claimed the coins had not arrived or were “fake”, then demanded ₱200,000 in “wallet top-up” fees. The victim used on-chain records to make a citizen’s arrest at the CCP Complex, as BitPinas reported. Most victims are not that lucky.

Add counterfeit notes, robbery at meetups and the chance that the crypto you receive is tied to a scam, and the “no-fee” deal looks expensive. Our P2P crypto guide covers the online side, and our crypto scams guide covers the tricks to watch for.

Why counters ask for your source of funds

Walking in with a thick envelope of cash triggers questions. That is the law working as designed, not a staff member being nosy.

In practice, bring more paperwork than you think you need. For a ₱300,000 purchase at Moneybees you will need Level 2, meaning proof of address. For ₱2 million you will need proof of income. Splitting a big amount into many small cash deals to stay under a threshold is called structuring, and it is itself a red flag that providers are trained to report.

Once you own the crypto, think about the way back. Before you buy, check how you will turn it back into pesos, the fees and the per-transaction caps. That is covered in our guide to selling crypto for cash in the Philippines. And if you came here looking for a machine, our Bitcoin ATM Philippines page explains why there are none you can rely on.

One more option if cash is not a must: a global exchange such as CEX.IO lets Filipino users buy with Visa or Mastercard. It is registered with FinCEN in the US and with the Bank of Spain, but it is not BSP-licensed and has no peso, GCash or InstaPay rails.