GCash Business Account for Local Collections: A Practical Guide

Digital finance is now the default for Filipino entrepreneurs — from sari-sari stores to online boutiques and B2B freelancers.

Customers expect to pay by phone, and businesses want fast, trackable settlements.

A GCash business account (via GCash for Business) makes it simple to accept local payments in the Philippines through QR in-store and Webpay online.

But if you also invoice overseas, pay foreign suppliers, or need to receive, hold and convert multiple currencies, you’ll quickly hit limits. GCash is an e-money wallet built for local acceptance — not a multi-currency business bank account.

Instead, use Wise Business, a business account built for international payments, to receive like a local in multiple countries, convert at the mid-market rate, and manage 40+ currencies from one place.

Table of contents
What exactly is a GCash business account? Benefits of a GCash business account for local operations GCash business account requirements Why GCash falls short for international payments Wise Business: a business account built for international payments How to create a GCash account online for business

What exactly is a GCash business account?

Before diving into setup and requirements, it's helpful to clarify what GCash actually offers businesses.

A GCash account for business has two layers: an admin platform you sign up for, and the merchant tools you sign up for and turn on to take payments¹. It’s designed for local PHP collections and payouts, not to be a full multi-currency business bank account.

GCash for Business vs GCash Merchant: What’s the difference?

Think “portal vs products.”

• GCash for Business (G4B) is the company admin portal and toolkit¹. You create your GCash account online here, complete KYC, add your settlement bank, manage users/roles, view reports, and (optionally) enable extras like disbursements or APIs.
• GCash Merchant refers to the payment acceptance products you activate inside G4B — e.g., in-store QR for physical checkout² and Webpay for online checkout³. Each merchant setup controls how you collect from customers and how those collections settle to your account.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

	GCash for Business (G4B)⁴	GCash Merchant¹
What it is	Company-level portal (admin and controls)	Payment acceptance setup (storefront or online)
Main purpose	Onboard your business, manage users, set settlement account, view dashboards, enable modules	Let customers pay you via QR in-store or Webpay online
Who uses it	Owners, finance/admin leads	Cashiers/store staff (QR), ecommerce/IT (Webpay)
Money flow	Centralized view of collections and payouts; configure where funds settle	Collect PHP payments from customers; funds settle per your G4B settings
Scope	Operations, reporting, (optional) disbursements/APIs	Customer checkout experience and payment capture

Details accurate at time of research — 14 September 2025

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Benefits of a GCash business account for local operations

If most of your customers are in the Philippines, a GCash account for business can streamline day-to-day operations fast. Here’s what you actually gain.

• Frictionless local payments: Display a GCash QR in-store or offer Webpay online. Customers scan and pay from their phones — no “Do you take GCash?” back-and-forth, no counting change, no bank-transfer screenshots, so checkout moves faster and queues shrink.
• Brand credibility and customer confidence: Clear business identification at payment, instant confirmations, and e-receipts build trust, reduce no-pays, and simplify after-sales support.
• Cleaner books and faster reconciliation. G4B gives you a central dashboard and exports, so finance can track inflows by day, location, or channel, and match settlements to your bank. It also helps keep business funds separate from your personal accounts. If you are wondering why you need to keep your business funds separate from your personal, check out our primer: Can I Use a Personal Bank Account for Business in the Philippines?
• Controls for teams: Set roles (owner, finance, cashier) so staff see only what they need; keep approvals and payouts with the right people.
• Lower cash-handling overhead and risk: With more GCash payments, you do fewer end-of-day cash counts and bank trips, and you reduce opportunities for errors or losses (miscounts, missing receipts, counterfeit bills). The digital trail also makes discrepancies easier to spot.
• Reach more customers: Even buyers without a traditional bank account can pay you through their wallet.
• Simple signup: You can create a GCash account online for business via the GCash for Business portal, then sign up and switch on the merchant tools you need (QR or Webpay).

Ready to apply? Before creating a GCash account online for business, gather the necessary information below to ensure a smooth review.

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GCash business account requirements

Requirements vary by entity type, but you’ll typically prepare⁵:

• Entity registration: Department of Trade and Industry or DTI (sole prop) or Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC docs (partnership/corporation)
• Tax documents: Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Certificate of Registration (2303)
• IDs: Valid government ID(s) for the owner/authorized signatory
• Authorizations: Board/partner resolution for corporations/partnerships
• Contact: An official company email not previously used for G4B
• Account status: A fully verified GCash profile for the signatory

💡Tip: keep soft copies ready (PDF/JPEG). It speeds up review and reduces back-and-forth on missing pages.

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Why GCash falls short for international payments

GCash is a PHP e-wallet for local collections, not a corporate account that lets you hold foreign currencies, receive like a local overseas, or pay suppliers abroad. (GCash also clearly states the wallet is not a deposit account⁶, which reinforces what it’s designed to do: to facilitate digital payments and money transfers for everyday use.)

• Balances: Funds are kept in PHP only (no USD/EUR/GBP balances).
• Receiving: You can’t receive like a local via ACH (US) or IBAN (EU), or invoice/settle in foreign currencies.
• Paying: Transfers are domestic-only, so it’s not a substitute for paying overseas suppliers or contractors.

What happens if you want to convert your PHP or receive other currencies?

You can route it through banks or legacy money transfer providers, but what looks simple on paper often turns costly and unpredictable in practice. With legacy providers, the headline “fee” isn’t the whole story; most of the real cost hides in the exchange rate and in-transit deductions.

• Hidden exchange rate markup. Instead of the mid-market rate, you’re given a worse “customer rate.” The difference is the markup, and it’s baked into the conversion, not shown as a fee, so the foreign exchange loss is invisible to the end-user.
• Unseen deductions along the route. Cross-border payments can pass through intermediary/correspondent banks that deduct fees in transit. These aren’t always disclosed upfront, so the recipient gets less than expected, and finance teams have to chase short credits.
• Double (or cascading) conversions. Funds may be converted more than once (e.g., USD to EUR, then to PHP), each at a non-mid-market rate. These extra conversions often happen behind the scenes and aren’t itemized for the sender.
• Vague timelines. Delivery windows like “1–5 business days”, non-obvious cut-offs, and compliance checks create timing uncertainty that makes cash-flow planning harder, especially if you need to confirm receipt before shipping goods or starting work.

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What about multi-currency accounts in the Philippines?

Philippine banks do provide foreign currency deposit accounts.

These are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through the Foreign Currency Deposit Unit (FCDU) framework created by Republic Act No. 6426 — the Foreign Currency Deposit Act⁷.

But here’s the catch: banks typically offer separate savings or time deposit accounts for each currency⁸.

That is, they’re not a single wallet that natively spans dozens of currencies or lets you receive payments “like a local” in multiple countries.

Bottom line?

FCDU accounts from Philippine banks are helpful for holding specific foreign currencies, but they don’t change what GCash is: a PHP e-money wallet and payment acceptance platform for local use. If you need to receive payments abroad like a local or manage many currencies in one place, you’ll still need a separate solution.

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Wise Business: a business account built for international payments

For any cross-border transaction, use Wise Business so you can receive like a local in multiple countries, hold and convert 40+ currencies, and spend overseas without nasty surprises.

If you’re deciding which Wise account fits your use case, check out our guide here: Wise Personal vs Wise Business.

💡Are bank accounts limited to USD, EUR, or GBP options holding back your business? With a Wise Business multi-currency account, you can access over 10 local account numbers — far more currency options than the handful most banks offer. Plus, Wise makes it easy to hold, send, receive, and exchange 40+ currencies from a single account. With the freedom to send and receive payments in more currencies globally, you can focus on what matters most: growing a local business that knows no borders.

• Obtain account details to receive payments in USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, HKD and more for a one-time fee of 1,400 PHP.
• Zero fees when you get paid via ACH, FAST, InstaPay/PESONet, & other local transfers.
• Send money to pay invoices, suppliers & contractors fast, with less fees
• Always get the mid-market rate with transparent conversion fees starting from 0.57%.
• Pay your bills and ad-hoc overseas expenses using the Wise Business card without hefty foreign transaction fees.
• Seamless integrations with popular accounting software.

➡️Learn more about Wise Business today

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

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How to create a GCash account online for business

Before you apply, make sure you’ve got the GCash business account requirements ready (DTI/SEC registration, BIR 2303, valid ID(s) for the owner/authorized signatory, and — if applicable — a board/partner resolution).

1. Apply via GCash for Business (G4B). Use your company email to sign up on the business portal⁹.
2. Complete verification. Fill in business details and upload documents⁵.
3. Activate merchant tools. Inside G4B, sign up and switch on the products you need: in-store QR for physical checkout² and/or Webpay for online checkout³.
4. Configure controls. Add team members with roles (owner/finance/cashier), set basic permissions¹⁰, and enable reports/exports.

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Conclusion

GCash Business Account is great for collecting local PHP payments quickly: QR in-store, Webpay online, clean records, and simple team controls.

But if your company's roadmap includes expansion, i.e. dealing with international clients or suppliers, consider using Wise Business, the business account built for international payments.

Wise Business lets you get an SGD or GBP local account detail just as easily as USD or EUR to do business without borders with no fees! You can hold and convert 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate (the rate you see on Google), and then pay your overseas contractors or suppliers easily in the currency you prefer, for less fees (no foreign currency conversion needed). Or, if you don't have sufficient funds of a specific currency to pay your expenses, Wise will automatically convert a different currency from your account to cover the cost, using the mid-market rate and applying a low conversion fee.

➡️Get started with Wise Business today

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Sources:

1. GCash for Business
2. GCash for Business scan to pay in-store QR
3. GCash for Business WebPay
4. What is GCash for Business?
5. What are the requirements to create a GCash for Business merchant account?
6. GCash terms and conditions
7. Republic Act No. 6426
8. BDO Unibank Foreign Currency Savings
9. GCash for Business registration
10. How do I transfer funds with GCash for Business?

Sources checked on 14 September 2025