Credit Card Fees for Crypto Transactions in the Philippines
This is the list of banks and their corresponding credit card fees when buying crypto through credit cards in the Philippines.
By Shiela Bertillo
In a thread in the subreddit PHINVEST subreddit r/phinvest, the users have listed the banks charge fees for crypto transactions; the list includes UnionBank (UB), Banco de Oro (BDO) and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC). Still while many have noted that they were able to successfully buy crypto using their credit cards, a lot of users noted that they had unsuccessful purchases as well.
Below is the list of banks and their corresponding credit card fees when buying crypto through their credit cards. Use this information only as a guide as the following details are subject to change at the time this article is published. BitPinas encourages everyone to comment on this article so we have better information on credit card fees for crypto in the Philippines.
| Bank | Fees |
| UnionBank | 5% service fee |
| HSBC | Php 200 on Cash Advances and Quasi Cash |
| RCBC | 1% on Quasi Cash |
| PayMaya | 2% per transaction* |
| MetroBank | 2.5% Fee |
| Eastwest | 2.5% charge |
UnionBank charges a 5% service fee on purchases of cryptocurrency as well as on quasi-cash.
On the other hand, although there is no information about service fees, BDO noted that transactions involving cryptocurrencies will no longer earn credit card points.
Other banks don’t have information for crypto transactions fees, however they may categorize it under Quasi-cash. For every transaction, HSBC charges Php 200 on the category of cash advance which also refers to quasi-cash transactions and related fees. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) charges 1% for every quasi-cash transaction.Â
What is Quasi Cash?
Quasi-cash transactions refer to a purchase of foreign currency or items, which may be convertible to cash.
Moreover, one redditor claimed that PayMaya charged 2% per transaction but it will “borrow” Php 200 for 2 days then return it. Though there is no further information regarding this, cryptocurrency transactions are indeed accessible through PayMaya via Coins.ph and PDAX. (Read more: How to Buy Bitcoin With Paymaya | Coins.ph, PDAX)
Contrarily, as of June 2021, BPI, one of the largest banks in the Philippines, is no longer allowing crypto transactions. (Read more: BPI No Longer Allows Crypto Transactions)
Likewise, one redditor shared that when signing up for an account in BDO, the bank had the user sign a waiver stating that it has the right to close the account if it finds any cryptocurrency-related activity. However, BitPinas is still looking for its confirmation.
Source: PH Invest on Reddit
This article is published on BitPinas: Credit Card Fees for Crypto Transactions in the Philippines
