Travel money
Travel money in Philippines: cash or card?
Cash runs the country and the machines that dispense it are the most expensive in the region — a flat fee against a low cap. Take the maximum every time, and consider GCash's tourist mode, which is the rare local wallet a visitor can actually get.
Philippine peso (PHP, ₱) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Jeepneys and tricycles, sari-sari stores, markets, ferries, island guesthouses and most of everything outside a mall.
Malls, hotels, chain restaurants, supermarkets and airlines in Manila, Cebu and the bigger cities.
A real float in pesos, in small notes. Withdrawals cost around ₱250 each and cap out low.
The ATM arithmetic: a flat fee against a ₱10,000 cap is a punitive combination if you top up daily.
The money itself
- 20 ₱Orange
- 50 ₱Red
- 100 ₱Violet
- 200 ₱Green
- 500 ₱Yellow
- 1,000 ₱Blue
1, 5, 10 and 20 pesos, plus small centavo pieces that mostly round away. Coins matter more here than in most of the region — a jeepney fare, a tricycle, a bottle of water are all coin-sized.
Machines pay out in ₱1,000 notes and almost nothing outside a mall can break one. Ask for smaller denominations where the machine offers the choice, and break the big notes at a supermarket or a 7-Eleven early — a sari-sari store or a jeepney driver simply cannot.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in Philippines and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Cash (pesos)
WorksThe default nearly everywhere: jeepneys, tricycles, sari-sari stores, markets, ferry piers, island guesthouses, entrance fees. Small notes and coins do most of the work.
Visa / Mastercard
Works, with a catchReliable in malls, hotels, chain restaurants, supermarkets and with airlines in the cities. Outside those, acceptance drops away quickly, and smaller merchants sometimes add a surcharge for taking a card.
GCash tourist mode
Works, with a catchGCash — what the country actually pays with — has a visitor tier that opens with a passport and a Philippine SIM, lasts around a month, and takes a top-up from an international card. It turns the QR code on every counter into something you can use, but it needs a local SIM and can only be activated once you are in the country.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
Works, with a catchWorks where a contactless terminal exists, which means malls and chains in the cities. It inherits your card, so it does not help where cards are refused.
Maya and the local wallets
Residents onlyThe other half of the QR economy, built around a Philippine number and ID. GCash's tourist tier is the only realistic route in for a visitor.
Grab
WorksCovers Manila, Cebu and the larger cities, takes a foreign card in the app, and quotes the fare before you accept — which also makes it the honest benchmark when a taxi driver refuses the meter.
Cash
The Philippines is a cash country with card islands: a mall in Makati or Cebu is a card environment, and twenty minutes away nothing is. Jeepneys, tricycles, habal-habal, sari-sari stores, market stalls, bangka boats, island guesthouses and most entrance fees are pesos in hand.
What makes this expensive is the machine rather than the country. Nearly every bank charges a foreign card a flat fee of roughly ₱250 per withdrawal, and many cap a single transaction at ₱10,000 — sometimes ₱20,000. Withdrawing a week's cash therefore means several fees unless you find a higher-limit machine.
Plan around it: take the maximum the machine allows, do it in a city before island-hopping, and carry the cash securely rather than topping up daily. On smaller islands the machine may be offline, out of cash, or absent altogether.
Cards
Acceptance is a city-and-mall phenomenon. Hotels, chain restaurants, supermarkets, department stores and airlines take Visa and Mastercard; family restaurants, markets, transport and anything on a small island generally do not.
Where cards are taken, some smaller merchants add a surcharge, and a few ask for a minimum spend. Neither is universal, and both are usually mentioned only at the till.
Decline dynamic currency conversion wherever it is offered — terminals in tourist areas push it, and being billed in your home currency costs several percent on top of everything else.
ATMs
This is the most expensive cash in the region, and the reason is arithmetic rather than a single big fee. A flat charge of around ₱250 applies to each withdrawal whatever the amount, and the per-transaction cap at many banks is ₱10,000 — so drawing a week of spending can mean paying the fee three or four times over.
The lever is the cap, not the fee: some banks allow ₱20,000 or more per transaction, and finding one is worth a short walk. Withdraw in a city rather than on an island, and take the maximum offered every time.
Machines run dry over long weekends and on smaller islands, and a machine that is present is not necessarily working. Arrive at an island with the cash you expect to need there.
Changing money
Licensed money changers in the cities give better rates than hotels or airport counters, and are worth using if you are carrying dollars — bring clean, newer notes, since older series and marked bills are refused or discounted.
For most visitors an ATM is simpler despite the fee, provided the withdrawal is large. Compare on the whole amount rather than the headline rate: one ₱250 fee on ₱20,000 is about 1.25%, which beats a poor exchange counter.
Pesos are worth spending down before you leave. There is little market for them abroad, and airport counters price accordingly.
Costs that are not the price
Service charge and VAT
Restaurants and hotels commonly add a 10% service charge, with 12% VAT on top of the menu price. Both are printed on the bill. Carinderias, street food and markets quote the price you pay.
Tipping is expected more than in most of Asia
Rounding up, or around 10% where no service charge has been added, is normal in restaurants. Small amounts for porters, drivers and guides are usual too — the Philippines tips more readily than its neighbours.
The environmental and terminal fees
Island destinations charge environmental or eco fees on arrival, and some domestic airports still collect a terminal fee separately from the ticket. Both are cash, small, and easy to be caught without.
There is now a tourist VAT refund
A refund scheme for non-resident tourists was signed into law in December 2024 and survived a Supreme Court challenge in July 2026: goods of at least ₱3,000 per transaction from accredited retailers, taken out of the country within 60 days. It is new, so accredited shops are still thin on the ground — ask before you count on it.
Paying for transport
Jeepneys and tricycles are coins
Fares are small, paid in cash, and often passed up the row of passengers to the driver. Have coins and small notes — nobody can break a ₱1,000 note on a jeepney.
Manila's rail runs on its own cards
The LRT and MRT use stored-value beep cards bought and topped up at stations, not contactless bank cards. For a short visit, a single-journey ticket at the counter is simpler.
Ferries and domestic flights
Airlines and the larger ferry operators sell online by card, which is the cheaper and calmer route. Buying at a pier is cash, and the piers are exactly where the ATM is unreliable.
What you may carry in and out
Declaring cash
More than USD 10,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency must be declared to customs. Pesos are separately restricted: taking out more than ₱50,000 requires authorisation from the central bank.
Pesos do not travel
There is almost no market for pesos abroad. Spend down before you fly, or change what is left at the airport knowing the rate is the cost of leaving it late.
Common questions about money in Philippines
How much are ATM fees in the Philippines?
About ₱250 per withdrawal at nearly every bank, charged on top of your own bank's fees. What makes it hurt is the per-transaction cap, often ₱10,000, so a week's cash can cost the fee several times over. Look for banks allowing ₱20,000 or more, and take the maximum each time.
Can tourists use GCash?
Yes, through its visitor tier. You register with a passport and a Philippine SIM once you are in the country, top up from an international card, and use it for about a month. It is the rare local wallet in Asia genuinely open to travellers — but it does need a local SIM, so it is not something to arrange before you fly.
Do I need cash in the Philippines?
Yes, a lot of it. Malls, hotels and chains in the cities take cards, but jeepneys, tricycles, sari-sari stores, markets, ferries, island guesthouses and entrance fees are cash. Take out a large amount in a city before heading to the islands.
Can I claim VAT back as a tourist in the Philippines?
In principle, yes — a refund law for non-resident tourists took effect and was upheld by the Supreme Court in July 2026, covering goods of ₱3,000 or more per transaction from accredited retailers and exported within 60 days. It is new enough that accredited shops are still uncommon, so ask before assuming.
Should I tip in the Philippines?
More than elsewhere in Asia. Around 10% in a restaurant where no service charge has been added, and small amounts for drivers, porters and guides. Where a 10% service charge is already on the bill, nothing further is needed.
Can I pay by card outside the cities?
Rarely. Card acceptance follows malls and chains, so a beach town, an island resort's neighbours, a market or a ferry pier will want cash. Assume cash the moment you leave a city.
What should I do with leftover pesos?
Spend them. Pesos have little value abroad, and taking more than ₱50,000 out of the country requires central bank authorisation in any case.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.