PHP to BTC: How to buy Bitcoin with Philippine peso
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have long been used as a more efficient and direct way to send money from abroad back home to the Philippines. Today, a sizeable domestic PHP to BTC market has established itself in the Philippines that caters to buyers and sellers of all stripes.
The Bitcoin industry in the Philippines is even catching up with more established crypto destinations such as Japan, with the archipelago now having over 10 licensed crypto exchanges and a lot more crypto activity expected to come out of the Cagayan Economic Zone.
For the everyday Bitcoin buyer, the options of turning PHP into BTC may seem a bit overwhelming at first. To help you on your way, here’s a quick overview of the most popular and easy ways to buy Bitcoin with Philippine peso.
Buying bitcoin with PHP cash
Cash remains an important form of money for many people across the world, and the Philippines is no different. And yet, however popular cash may be, buying Bitcoin with PHP cash can only be done through a few different providers.
Bitcoin ATMS
There are only two Bitcoin ATMs located in the Philippines, both in Manila. One of them is located inside a bank branch of Union Bank — the same bank that recently launched a stablecoin pegged to the Philippine peso — which offers Bitcoin buyers and sellers the option to use cash. However, larger amounts above P500,000 (USD10,000 approximately) for both cash in and cash out can only be done through check payments or bank transfers, provided you have a bank account with Union Bank.
Note that Bitcoin ATMs will have fees that are included in the PHP to BTC exchange rate itself. Usually, these fees range from 5 to 7%.
Bitspark mobile app and money shops
Using the Bitspark mobile app, you can buy and sell Bitcoin using PHP cash at affiliated shops such as Cebuana L’huillier, M. L’huillier Padala, and Palawan. These places are referred to as Cash Points.
After downloading the app, you can find Cash Points near you where you can both take Bitcoin out of your wallet using stable.PHP as the bridge currency between BTC and PHP cash, and the other way around you can buy BTC with PHP cash at an affiliated Cash Point.
If you want to buy Bitcoin with PHP cash, for example, you would go to an affiliated money shop that you have found through your mobile app. Then at the shop, you convert your PHP cash to the digital stable.PHP which will be loaded into your wallet at a 1.5% fee. With stable.PHP in your wallet, you can do many different things like buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, BitShares, Zeph or even other stablecoins for HKD, EUR, USD and many more.
Over the counter
Companies like Coins.ph, Moneybees.ph and Bloom have a network of remittance centers and money changers that offer over the counter crypto buying services. At these locations, you can exchange money for Bitcoin securely. It is a familiar currency exchange process for those that use money changers and remittance services frequently.
Buy Bitcoin with PHP using a credit card
Of course, if you have a credit card there are a few more options available for you to buy Bitcoin in The Philippines.
Abra
Abra is a mobile app that next to being a crypto wallet app is also an investing app. With funds in your Abra wallet, you can buy into cryptocurrencies, stocks and different local currencies. You can fund the wallet using credit card deposits which are charged 4% or a flat fee of $10 for purchases below $200.
Buy bitcoin at 7-Eleven with PHP cash
Coins.ph has a partnership with 7-Eleven that allows you to top up your Coins.ph wallet with pesos in the shop. While this is certainly convenient, there are different types of limitations for deposits and withdrawals depending on how much information you have provided for account verification purposes. Also, to use this service you must be able to provide a source of income, following the KYC rules applied by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Originally published at https://www.bitspark.io.
