Coins.ph to Charge ₱15 per Month for Inactive Accounts

Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday

• A recent announcement of Coins.ph that it will charge a monthly maintenance fee of ₱15 until the peso balance turns zero for inactive accounts, or those who have not made any single transactions within the app for at least 12 months, has drawn mixed reactions from the public. 
• However, BitPinas learned that charging maintenance fees for inactive accounts is not uncommon in e-wallet apps. Other e-wallet giants, such as GCash and Maya, also charge maintenance fees for inactive accounts. 
• And to help users avoid deductions, Coins.ph emphasized that it will send a notice via email five days before the account will be considered inactive. This five-day period will be an opportunity for the users to make at least a single transaction to prevent their accounts from being tagged as inactive. 

Popular cryptocurrency exchange and e-wallet Coins.ph recently announced that it will be implementing a monthly maintenance fee for inactive accounts starting January 30, 2023. The fee will be ₱15 and will be charged to the account’s peso balance, not the crypto wallet balance.

Why require a maintenance fee?

In an interview with BitPinas, Coins.ph said that the decision to require maintenance fees for inactive peso accounts is similar to requirements from other e-wallet platforms to continue managing them:

“Similar to other e-wallet platforms who require a maintenance fee for inactive fiat (Pesos) accounts to continue managing them, the implementation will ensure that the Coins app and its services remain safe and secure for all users.” 

As per Coins.ph, an inactive account is an account that has not made any transaction activity for at least 12 months.

“Coins is constantly upgrading our technology and security infrastructure to keep our platform up to date, protecting all users from any new threats. Active users, through their regular transactions with us, and the maintenance fees charged to inactive users allow us to make these important updates,” the e-wallet explained.

Will there be deductions to the crypto wallet? 

It was not specified in the announcement that maintenance fees for inactive accounts would be charged to the crypto balance if the account does not have a sufficient peso balance.

Thus, it means that an inactive account that has zero in its peso wallet and 0.1 BTC (for example) in its crypto wallet will not be charged the maintenance fee.

Are other e-wallets requiring maintenance fees as well?

Upon checking, charging maintenance fees for inactive accounts is not uncommon in the e-wallet space. GCash and Maya have almost similar requirements in their terms of service. 

GCash’s terms and conditions state:

“GCash may charge dormancy maintenance fees to GCash Wallets that have not been used for any monetary transaction at least six (6) months from date of the last transaction. The maintenance fee shall be automatically debited from the User’s Wallet… GCash Wallets that remain inactive for six (6) months and with zero balance shall be automatically deactivated without further notice. (Dormancy fee ₱50).”

Maya’s terms and conditions state:

“In case of dormancy, the Account may be zeroed out as a result of fees charged. In this case, PayMaya shall have the discretion to close or purge the account in accordance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations. (dormancy fee (1% of the balance with a maximum ₱ 30.00/month)”

How to avoid being charged a maintenance fee?

“Customers will receive an email at least 5 days prior to deduction through their registered Coins account email address. During this period, users can still perform a transaction to avoid inactivity status,” Coins.ph said.

What are the considered transaction activities in Coins.ph?

According to Coins.ph, the following can be done to avoid inactivity: 

1. Cash in
2. Cash Out
3. Buy Load
4. Pay Bills
5. Buy Game Credits
6. P2P transfers between Coins users 
7. Crypto wallet transfers
8. Crypto conversions
9. Coins Pro deposits (Coins.ph to Coins Pro transfers)
10. Coins Pro withdrawals (Coins Pro to Coins.ph transfers)

Where some of the transactions above can be done for as low as ₱15 to avoid inactivity, the firm clarified.

For customers who may not be able to use their account for an extended period of time, but wish to maintain it without incurring the monthly maintenance fee, Coins.ph encourages them to reach out to the Help Center to share their unique cases so that the team can review them.

This article is published on BitPinas: Coins.ph to Charge ₱15 per Month for Inactive Accounts

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.