7 best PayPal alternatives for freelancers in the Philippines

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PayPal¹ is one of the world's most popular online payment platforms, but it may not be the right fit for everyone. Whether you're a freelancer working with overseas clients, receiving payments from marketplaces, or sending money internationally, there are several alternatives worth considering.

In this guide, we'll compare some of the best PayPal alternatives available in the Philippines to help you pick the right one for your unique needs. We'll also introduce the Wise account, a handy companion to make your money go further with low, transparent fees.

Why look for a PayPal alternative?

You might be considering PayPal alternatives as a personal user if you want to reduce your transaction costs². While PayPal is a very convenient platform, some of the fees you pay can be high, particularly when transacting internationally.

PayPal alternatives for payment needs might offer lower transfer fees, better exchange rates when sending overseas, and a broader range of features, including debit cards, savings accounts and access to banking services.

You might also want to choose PayPal alternatives for freelancers if you’re looking for ways to receive incoming client payments from abroad without the PayPal merchant fees³.

PayPal alternatives for freelancers might give you local account information you can add to invoices or get paid through marketplace sites, which can keep down costs while offering your clients easier ways to pay.

Let’s look in a little more detail at some common reasons Filipinos decide to look to switch things up with a PayPal alternative.

International transfer fees

Sending a domestic payment with PayPal is cheap or free, but sending money overseas can be costly.

Expect to pay 4.99 USD for overseas transfers funded from your bank or PayPal balance, with an extra 3.4% fee if you pay by card.

Exchange rate markups

If you need to convert currencies at any point with PayPal - to send money, convert in your account or make a withdrawal, a fee applies. This is 3% or 4%, depending on the transaction type.

Receiving payments from overseas clients

Generally, receiving money for goods and services with PayPal will fall under the merchant transaction type and attract different fees compared to receiving a personal payment.

This may mean paying 3.4% to get paid locally, and around 4.0% for overseas payments, plus any currency conversion cost.

Withdrawing from PayPal

Depending on how much you withdraw and the currency you withdraw in, you might pay when you move funds out of PayPal. To move PHP from PayPal to a bank account, there’s a fee of 50 PHP if your withdrawal amount is less than 7,000 PHP, waived for higher amounts.

There’s a 3% fee to withdraw to a US account.

If any currency conversion is needed to convert funds before withdrawing, fees of 3% will apply.

How to choose an alternative

The right PayPal alternative for you will depend on how you need to transact.

It makes sense to look carefully at the costs of alternative providers, and at available exchange rates if you transact internationally. For payment services it’s also worth checking the options to pay in and pay out - such as transfers to mobile wallets, for cash collection or to banks.

We’ll look at some great PayPal alternatives in more detail next to help you pick one.

7 Best PayPal alternatives for freelancers and online payments

Wise

Best for: Multi-currency tools to receive PHP and foreign payments, convert, send and spend with the mid-market rate

Wise can offer a strong PayPal alternative for personal use and for freelancers getting paid by local and foreign clients. You can use Wise to receive payments with local account information in 8+ currencies with no fee, or get SWIFT details to receive 20+ currencies with small, fixed incoming payment charges.

Hold your balance in the currency you receive or convert to PHP to withdraw or spend. You can order a Wise card to transact easily with contactless and Apple Pay/Google Pay - and get the mid-market rate on currency conversion every time.

Payoneer

Best for: Freelancers working online, with easy ways to get paid through clients, platforms and marketplaces

Payoneer⁴ can be a good alternative to PayPal if you’re a freelancer and need to receive client payments digitally. You’ll get local or global account information for 20 currencies, which you can use on invoices - or you can receive incoming payments from marketplaces and payment platforms, including Amazon seller payouts and selected payment-provider transfers such as Stripe, where supported by Payoneer receiving account details.

Once you have money in your Payoneer account, you can withdraw funds to your bank account, send money to others, or get a Payoneer card to spend if you’d prefer.

GCash

Best for: Local payments and convenient everyday spending with low or no fees

If you typically use PayPal for local financial transactions, GCash⁵ may be a strong alternative. GCash offers a suite of solutions from a mobile wallet to pay in person and online, options for local bill payments and transfers within the Philippines.

You can also use your GCash account to access more complex financial services like savings accounts, loans and investment products, giving you access to all you need in one place.

Maya

Best for: Full service local payments, plus high-yield interest-earning accounts with Maya Bank

Maya⁶ could be a good PayPal alternative for customers who use PayPal for local spending in the Philippines. You can use your Maya wallet for daily transactions, with options to pay bills, get a debit or credit card and use a full suite of services through Maya Bank.

Maya makes it easy to send money to others locally and is considered to be a reliable and trustworthy service. It’s particularly good for savers who are able to fulfil account conditions to access excellent interest rates.

Skrill

Best for: Sending and receiving global and local payments, and earning loyalty rewards as you transact

Skrill⁷ offers both personal and business accounts in the Philippines, much like PayPal. You can use your Skrill account to transact globally and locally, and earn rewards as you transact. That may appeal as a PayPal alternative if you’re happy to use Skrill as a primary financial tool to rack up rewards more quickly.

Skrill supports international payments to 40 cryptocurrencies too, and your recipient can then either hold their funds in a Skrill account or withdraw them to their bank if they’d prefer.

Remitly

Best for: Receiving payments in the Philippines from friends and family, in cash or for home delivery

Remitly⁸ is a popular PayPal alternative if you used PayPal as a way to receive payments in the Philippines from loved ones. Remitly lets you get paid in PHP to your bank or mobile wallet, as cash you collect or get delivered to your home, or as a payment to your debit card. This gives huge flexibility and can mean you can receive remittances quickly and conveniently.

You can’t create your own Remitly account in the Philippines to send outgoing payments - this service is for inward transfers only.

Western Union

Best for: Sending money globally, and receiving cash payments in the Philippines

Like PayPal, Western Union⁹ has a pretty much global reach and can allow you to send or receive international payments more or less anywhere in the world. Western Union is a good PayPal alternative for people who want to transact in cash. You can send a payment in person at an agent in the Philippines, and pay in cash, and then have your recipient get the payment just moments later, in cash at an agent close to their home.

Western Union also supports transfers to bank accounts and mobile money accounts for convenience.

Which PayPal alternative is best for freelancers?

There’s not one single best PayPal alternative for freelancers - it’ll really come down to the type of transactions you need to make. Both local and global providers offer some overlapping services with PayPal, which gives you plenty of choices, depending on whether your focus is on sending payments to others, receiving inward transfers, shopping online or getting cash conveniently.

Wise can be a good PayPal alternative as a one-stop solution for international money management, including sending, receiving, holding and spending foreign currencies conveniently.

Payoneer is a popular PayPal alternative for freelancers working digitally and lets you get incoming client payments with local account information, as well as take online payments from marketplaces and payment platforms.

GCash or Maya are both strong PayPal alternatives for customers with a focus on PHP transactions, such as paying local bills and spending online. They both also offer broader financial services like savings accounts.

Skrill might be a good pick for a PayPal alternative if you want to send and receive international payments using just your email or contact details, while Remitly is a good PayPal replacement if you need to receive incoming remittances in the Philippines.

Finally, consider Western Union as a PayPal alternative if you prefer to transact in cash and want to be able to send money in person and have it collected in cash by the recipient, or if you want a fast transfer from a client or family member, which you can get in cash in PHP locally.

Looking for a PayPal alternative to get paid from abroad? Try Wise

Did you know that over 76%* of Filipinos cite low and transparent fees as an important factor when receiving money from abroad? With Wise, that's exactly what you're getting - all you need to get started is to sign up for a free Wise account, and you'll be able to manage your money with just a few taps of your phone.

You'll have access to 8+ local account details for major currencies including PHP, USD, GBP, AUD, and more, allowing you to receive money directly, in a cheap and convenient manner. After getting your money, you can easily convert it to 40+ currencies, with low fees, and the mid-market rate - also known as the rate you see on Google. This includes exchanging to PHP with a one-time conversion fee from 0.57% that's shown upfront, and no markups or additional fees.

Get paid and move your funds to your local bank account in PHP in a cheap and convenient manner with Wise to stretch every peso.

*Disclaimer: The percentage figure mentioned above is based on an internal survey conducted by Wise in April, 2024

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Sources:

1. PayPal Philippines
2. PayPal Philippines personal fees
3. PayPal Philippines merchant fees
4. Payoneer
5. GCash
6. Maya
7. Skrill
8. Remitly
9. Western Union Philippines