How to Send Money from GCash to PayPal: 2026 Guide for Filipinos

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GCash¹ is a popular option for Filipinos, with services covering sending money, spending, borrowing and saving. PayPal² is another convenient tool for transfers to friends and family, and secure online shopping. But how do PayPal and GCash integrate? Can you make a direct GCash to PayPal transfer, and is there any GCash to PayPal transfer fee?

We’ll walk through how to send money from GCash to PayPal and also touch on an alternative - Wise - for sending payments across currencies cheaply and safely.

Plus if you’re looking to move money in the opposite direction there’s also this guide on how to send money from PayPal to GCash. Let’s dive right in.

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Can you send money from GCash to PayPal?

Yes. You can send money from GCash to PayPal.

You can’t make a transfer from your GCash VISA Card to PayPal, but you can still arrange a GCash to PayPal cash in by linking your accounts.

To do this you’ll need to link your PayPal to GCash digitally, and convert the PayPal balance you want to send to PHP in your PayPal account - a fee of 3% will apply for this service³.

Here’s how to send money from GCash to PayPal once you’ve linked your PayPal and GCash accounts⁴:

1. Log into the GCash app, and tap Cash In
2. Select Global Banks and Partners, then PayPal.
3. Type the amount to cash in and follow the steps to confirm.

It’s important to note that it may take 24-48 hours for the money to reach your PayPal balance. You’ll get a message when the money is available to use.

How to link GCash to PayPal

We’ll cover how to send GCash to PayPal in detail in a moment, but before you do there are a few steps to take. Firstly, you must make sure your GCash is fully verified⁵.

You’ll have to remember to do this in advance. Getting your verification sorted may take as long as three days as the GCash team needs to check your documents⁶.

Verifying your GCash account is straightforward but you’ll need to provide an ID document. Documents vary depending on your age and nationality, but for an adult Filipino you can usually use an image of any of the following documents for verification⁷:

• National ID or Passport
• HDMF (Pag-Ibig Loyalty Plus)
• Driver's License / BLTO Driver's License
• Philippine Postal ID
• PRC ID
• UMID
• SSS ID

There are also a few other requirements to know about which we’ll cover next.

What you need before linking:

As we’ve seen, your GCash account must be fully verified to allow you to link it to PayPal to make a GCash to PayPal transfer. There are also a few other requirements:

• Your PayPal account must be verified and based in the Philippines
• You can link only 1 PayPal account to 1 GCash account
• On Android phones you’ll need to use Google Chrome as your default browser to transfer GCash to PayPal

Steps to link PayPal to Gcash

Here’s how to link GCash to PayPal:

1. Log into the GCash app, and tap Cash In.
2. Select Global Banks and Partners, then PayPal.
3. Log in to PayPal, then tap Next.
4. Tap Okay to confirm the account linking.

You’re now ready to make a transfer from PayPal to GCash.

What can you do instead of sending money from GCash to PayPal?

The alternatives to sending money from GCash to PayPal depend on why you need to add money to your PayPal balance.

If you’re planning on using PayPal for online shopping in the Philippines, for example, you may find that simply linking a bank account or PHP debit card is the easiest alternative. Or if you want to shop overseas or send a payment in a foreign currency, using an alternative provider like Wise may be more cost effective.

Use PayPal’s supported funding methods

PayPal Philippines supports a few methods to add a balance to your own account, receive money, or spend securely:

• Link your PHP bank account and add a balance to your PayPal account from your bank - this method is not supported for all account holders, so you’ll need to check if it’s an available option for your own account⁸
• Receive payments from others - have someone else send you a payment from their own PayPal account
• Link a Philippine based bank account or card and spend directly from that - you can also spend without holding a balance by linking an account or card and drawing on funds from it as and when you send or spend

It’s helpful to check out the PayPal fees for different services before you get started. While spending online or sending money within the Philippines with a linked card or bank in PHP has no extra fee, costs can apply for cross currency transactions.

Specifically if you spend online in a foreign currency, or send a payment to someone else in a foreign currency you’ll pay 4% in conversion charges. International personal transfers also have variable fees depending on how you pay, of up to 4.99 USD plus 3.4% if you fund with a card³.

Use Wise if your real goal is to send money internationally

If you’re sending money overseas, Wise could be a convenient alternative to moving funds through PayPal and GCash.

With Wise, you can send payments directly to bank accounts and selected mobile wallets in many countries, with onversion fees from just 0.57%.

You can also use Wise to convert money to PHP first before adding funds to PayPal. This may reduce overall currency conversion costs compared to relying on PayPal’s exchange rates alone.

Looking for something different? Learn about how to send money from Wise to PayPal here.

Make foreign currency transfers, receive payments from abroad and convert to PHP cheaper and easier with the Wise account

If your goal is to send money overseas, Wise could be an alternative to topping up PayPal through GCash.

Wise international money transfers can be set up online or within the Wise app with low fees from 0.57% and the mid-market rate, to over 140+ countries. There’s no markup added to the exchange rate that’s used to convert your currency, which makes it easier to see exactly what you're paying for a transfer, and what the recipient will get in the end. Just transfer the amount indicated in PHP and let Wise do the rest.

To make sending foreign currency even easier, create a free Wise account, and you'll be able to manage and convert your money in PHP and 40+ other currencies. You'll get the same great rates, and be able to track your transfers all from one place. You can also get 8+ local account details to be able to receive money in PHP, USD, GBP, and more.

🚀 Get started with Wise