So you probably have a bunch of bitcoins thru your investments, trading, and mining. And of course you deserved a relaxing vacation and you only have bitcoins to spend. You decided its more fun in the Philippines because it is. 😀 How are you gonna survive a fun vacation with nothing but BTC?
Of course you can! However you wont be able to find any merchants or establishments that directly accepts your satoshis. In this survival guide, I will teach you what to arm yourself with and survive with BTC.
Download COINS.PH - CoinsPH is an app available on both iOS and Android and is basically a Peso and Bitcoin wallet. I asked the good folks at coins.ph and they do allow ID verified foreigners to have an account with them. Coins.ph allows you to cashout your bitcoins via different channels. We will talk about 2 of the preferred cashout method for foreigners. PHP 400,000 is the maximum allowed annual cashout and 50,000 ($1000) daily for all ID verified users. Use my invite or referral code "wbcokt" when you sign up for coins.ph.
Cashout Method 1: GCash - Upon arrival in Manila, try searching for a nearby mall with a Globe outlet. Airports may already have a stall so be sure to ask if they have a Globe kiosk. Globe is a wireless carrier like AT&T that provides cellular connectivity to Filipinos. They do offer a payment service called GCash and is linked to a Globe mobile number and to a plastic Mastercard debit card. Be sure to have an openline sparephone or have a dualsim capable phone. You will be required to purchase a local Globe sim for Gcash activation and the new sim will be your local data/cellular provider so you wont need roaming. KYC is required so provide a valid ID/Passport upon application of GCash. Once your GCash is activated then you can cashout from your CoinsPH app directly to your GCash account and the currency will be in Philippine pesos. Since Gcash is linked to a plastic debit Mastercard. You should be able to purchase anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Cashing out via atm is also cheap as it will only cost you 15 pesos withdrawal fee from your GCash Mastercard. PHP 100,000 ($2000) is the maximum allowed balance for GCash.
Cashout Method 2: Cebuana Lhuiller - Cebuana Lhuiller is a money transfer service and pawnshop that is virtually found everywhere in the Philippines. Cashing out is easy from the CoinsPH app. Enter amount and Full name appearing on your ID and present the reference number together with a valid ID or passport to the Cebuana agent. Daily cashout limit and cashout fees apply.
There you have it!
Coins.ph is more than a wallet. It also allows you to send payments, buy prepaid load with 10% rebate, buy BTC and pay bills.
Be sure to use my invite code "wbcokt" when you sign up for an account and we will both get Php 50 pesos on our balance!
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Cheers!