How to transfer money from Phillipines GCash to Alipay and vice versa?

In a digital era, which is growing ever more cashless, living abroad is not much different from being at home. You can shop online, purchase clothes, makeup, books, food, and many other items from your country. You can pay with a wide spectrum of payment solutions – all accomplished with a few smartphone clicks. If you’ve just moved to China from the Philippines, get ready to fall in love with Alipay, the most popular virtual wallet in China; It functions like GCash in the Philippines.

Using the Alipay app, you can pay for your bills, services, and almost everything else in China. For Filipinos in China, you might be wondering if it's possible to move money from and to Alipay using GCash. In this article, we’ll go over the detailed instructions for GCash to and from Alipay money transactions.

Having Alipay is great, but how do you safely and quickly move your Chinese earnings to the Philippines, or other countries? Wise is a perfect option. Opening a Wise multi-currency account can help you send money out of China, and also reduce the commission charge when converting and holding dozens of currencies. Whether you’re in China, or in the Philippines, you can use Wise to transfer money internationally to 160+ countries.

Open Wise account

What is Gcash?

Introduced in 2004, GCash is a money transfer service via SMS that operates in the Philippines. Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. is the owner of the mobile payment service GCash. Originally created to assist Filipinos in converting their cash to electronic money via cash-in and cash-out outlets, GCash created a digital cashless system in 2012¹.

This primary digital wallet provider collaborates with more than 139,000 partner merchants in the Philippines², and has served over 76 million users as of 2022³.

So with GCash, what precisely can you do?

Lifestyle services⁴:

• Book movies for most local cinemas.
• Purchase Game Credits.
• Shop with Glife app.
• Pay via QR code when shopping and dining at 70,000+ stores.
• Pay bills to more than 400+ vendors and service providers, including utilities, credit card bills, government bills, loans, tuition fees, etc.
• Shop online.

Financial services⁴:

• Make money transfers to 40+ banks.
• Send money to another Gcash account, as well as the non-Gcash users.
• Purchase and trade cryptocurrency on GCrypto. It is free to top up.
• Use GGives and GCredit to shop and pay later at Gcash’s partner merchants.
• Get a cash loan of up to Php 125,000.
• Invest money with Gcash’s partner providers.
• Start saving money with GCash Save account.
• Buy and sell shares and stocks in the Philippines.

Filipinos who live abroad can also utilize GCash. You can download GCash with an international SIM card, and utilize money transfer services, paying bills in the Philippines, etc. However, the GCash overseas program is currently only available in Japan, Italy, and Australia at the moment⁵.

For Filipinos in China, you can have Alipay, and you can find a way to use Gcash to and from Alipay money transfers.

What is Alipay in Gcash?

There are well-defined and stable connections between GCash and Alipay. Ant Group, an affiliate of the Alibaba Group that runs Alipay, and Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., actually the owner of GCash and operating under the name Mynt, are partners in this joint venture¹. This explains why GCash and Alipay offer so many features in common.

When you use GCash to pay via QR code outside the Philippines, in fact, you pay via scanning the Alipay partner merchant’s QR⁶. And if you ever have access to GCash Forest⁴ to collect green energy and lessen your carbon footprint, you will enjoy a similar experience in Alipay’s ‘Ant Forest’.

In 2018, the world's first cross-border e-wallet blockchain remittance was realized between two local but separate wallets - AlipayHK in Hong Kong and GCash in the Philippines⁷.

Transfer money from Alipay to GCash

Currently, GCash does not support money transactions from or to Alipay mainland China, but you can send money from AlipayHK to GCash. And there is no transaction fee⁷.

Step by step guide on how to transfer money from AlipayHK to GCash:

1. Make sure you have a verified AlipayHK account, and switch it to the English version.
2. Open your AlipayHK app, and Choose “Remittance”.
3. Click “New Remittance”.
4. Choose the Philippines as the “Remittance Destination”.
5. Pick GCash eWallet as the remittance method. There’s an exclusive HKD to PHP exchange rate displayed.
6. Enter the amount you want to send.
7. Type the correct payee information, including GCash ID, and payee’s name. And click “Next”.
8. Check the payment details and click “Pay Now”.
9. The funds will arrive in real time. Alipay will send you a confirmation message, and the receiver will receive a notification from Alipay.

Transfer money from GCash to Alipay

At the moment, neither Alipay mainland China nor AlipayHK can receive money from GCash directly. But you may go cashless outside the Philippines, and pay with GCash + Alipay.
Another option would be to send funds to Alipay via Wise. Wise can send RMB straight to Alipay, WeChat, or China Unionpay bank cards.

Step Guide about how to pay GCash using Alipay⁸

1. At the checkout of Alipay partner merchants, look for the GCash and Alipay logos.
2. Open your GCash app, and select the “QR”.
3. When the merchant’s QR code is shown, scan it.
4. Alternatively, you can choose to “Pay abroad with Alipay +”, and ask the merchant to scan your QR code.
5. Double check the amount due before you pay.
6. Receive the payment receipt page immediately.

Learn about Wise: an international money transfer app to send money to over 160 countries including China!

If you find it awkward to transfer money between GCash and Alipay, simply use Wise. Founded in 2011, Wise is a trusted financial app that has made international financial transactions much easier for over 16 million people in the world.

Wise money transfers support 160+ countries, including China and the Philippines, and apply the mid-market rate. You can pay less and receive more. Whether you need to send cash into your Philippine GCash account or send money home, the Wise app or its web-based version can make transactions very simple to do.

Another useful Wise service is the Wise multi-currency account, which allows you to hold over 40 currencies. When you travel abroad, you can change to local currency in your Wise account, saving on conversion fees. So if you still don’t have a Wise account, how about registering a profile with just a few clicks on your smartphone?

* Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Expat living in China? Try Wise to send earnings back home!

With its multi-currency account and international money transfer services, Wise makes life easier and more enjoyable for foreigners living in China. And what better news for expats? A new method of moving money out of China is offered by Wise. You can now send your China mainland RMB earnings easily to your country.

Follow the simple steps:

1. Open a Wise account and get it verified
2. Pay for your transaction.
3. Confirm the transaction. The CNY money will typically be sent to your account abroad in two to three business days.

*This service is provided in partnership with a licensed third party payment provider in China.