Key takeaways
- ✅ Both GSave and Maya Savings are PDIC-insured up to ₱1,000,000 per depositor, per bank, but only once money leaves the wallet.
- ✅ Maya Savings pays 3% base (up to 15% via Boost missions); GSave through CIMB pays 2.30%, as of June 2026.
- ✅ A 20% final withholding tax is deducted before you see your interest, so your net is always below the advertised rate.
You've got some ipon sitting in your GCash or Maya wallet earning nothing, and both apps keep nudging you about a savings account that pays "up to 15%." The real questions are simple: which one actually grows your money more, and is it safe?
GCash and Maya both let you earn interest, but they're built differently. Here's how each one works, what they really pay once tax is taken out, and how to pick. We'll start with what each one actually is.
GCash is an e-wallet that ties up with banks, so you can move money into a GSave account through GCash and earn interest. Its partner banks are CIMB Bank, BPI, UNO Digital Bank, Maybank, and Cebuana Lhuillier Bank.
Here's how it works: go to the GSave section in the GCash app, pick one of the partner banks, and open an account with them through GCash. Once it's open, you can move funds from your GCash wallet into that GSave account anytime.
Maya is different: it's both an e-wallet and a bank. The e-wallet is run by Maya Philippines, Inc., and the bank is Maya Bank, Inc. Once you've opened and verified your Maya account, you can start saving and earning interest, all in one app.
And like any other bank, Maya is PDIC-insured up to ₱1,000,000 per depositor. The partner banks behind GCash's GSave are PDIC-insured up to ₱1,000,000 per depositor too.
Now that the key difference is clear, let's compare what each one pays.
Interest rates: what each product pays
Rates on digital savings products change often, so always confirm in the app before you decide.
GCash GSave partner-bank rates (as of June 2026):
| Product (bank) | Rate (p.a.) |
|---|---|
GSave (CIMB Bank) | 2.30% |
#UNOready (UNO Digital Bank) | up to 3.5% |
eC-Savings (Cebuana Lhuillier Bank) | 3% |
EzySave+ (Maybank) | 0.1875% |
#MySaveUp (BPI) | 0.0925% |
Maya rates (as of June 2026):
| Product | Rate (p.a.) |
|---|---|
Maya Savings (base) | 3% |
Maya Savings + Boost (promo) | up to 15% |
Maya Time Deposit (12 months) | up to 5.5% |
Maya Time Deposit (6 months) | up to 6% |
Maya Time Deposit (3 months) | up to 5% |
Maya Personal Goals (6 months) | up to 8% |
A note on Maya Boost: Maya offers a Boost rate above its base savings rate, up to 15% p.a., earned by completing missions like paying your bills with Maya and spending using Maya Easy Credit. Check the Missions page in the Maya app for the current conditions.
How much do you actually earn? A ₱10,000 example
Interest on Philippine bank deposits gets a 20% final withholding tax, which the bank deducts before crediting your interest. So the advertised rate and what actually lands in your account are two different numbers.
Here's the math on ₱10,000 saved for 12 months at the rates above:
| Scenario | Deposit | Rate (p.a.) | Gross interest | 20% tax | Net interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GSave (CIMB) | ₱10,000 | 2.30% | ₱230 | ₱46 | ₱184 |
Maya Savings (base) | ₱10,000 | 3% | ₱300 | ₱60 | ₱240 |
Maya Savings + Boost (promo) | ₱10,000 | up to 15% | up to ₱1,500 | up to ₱300 | up to ₱1,200 |
To work it out yourself:
- Gross interest = deposit × annual rate × (days / 365)
- Withholding tax = gross interest × 20%
- Net interest = gross interest minus withholding tax
To skip the manual math, use the PesoBuddy Digital Bank Savings Interest Calculator: enter your deposit, the current rate, and your time frame, and it shows the gross interest, the 20% tax, the net interest, and your ending balance.
At ₱50,000, even a 1% difference in rate is ₱500 a year before tax, which is worth knowing when you're choosing between products.
Safety first: what PDIC insurance actually covers
As of June 2026, PDIC insures bank deposits up to ₱1,000,000 per depositor, per bank. That limit was raised from ₱500,000 effective March 15, 2025. A few things worth knowing:
The most the insurance covers per depositor is ₱1,000,000. Anything above that isn't covered.
This limit applies to all your accounts in one bank combined. So if you have three accounts at the same bank and the total, including interest, is ₱3,000,000, only ₱1,000,000 is covered. If you're also part of a joint account, that joint account gets its own separate coverage of up to ₱1,000,000.
Why does this matter, and why keep your money in a PDIC-insured bank? If a bank closes, PDIC steps in and each depositor is insured up to ₱1,000,000. To check whether your bank is covered, look it up on the PDIC list of banks.
GCash GSave vs Maya Savings, side by side
| Feature | GCash GSave | Maya Savings |
|---|---|---|
What it is | Savings account inside a wallet, deposits held at a partner bank | Savings account inside a licensed digital bank (Maya Bank) |
BSP regulation | GCash = e-money issuer; partner bank (e.g., CIMB) = BSP-licensed bank | Maya Bank = BSP-licensed digital bank |
PDIC insured? | Yes, at the partner bank level, up to ₱1,000,000 | Yes, at Maya Bank, up to ₱1,000,000 |
Interest rate | 2.30% p.a. (via CIMB) | 3% p.a. |
Boosted/promo rate | None currently | Maya Boost, up to 15% p.a. (conditions apply) |
Minimum balance | None | None |
Withdrawal access | Move funds to the GCash wallet, then spend or cash out | Move funds to the Maya wallet, then spend or cash out |
ATM access | No direct ATM, only after moving funds to the wallet | No direct ATM, only after moving funds to the wallet |
App requirement | Requires GCash app | Requires Maya app |
KYC / verification | GCash account must be fully verified | Maya account must be fully verified |
What to think about beyond the rate
A higher rate is nice, but it isn't the only thing that matters.
Liquidity. How fast can you get your money out? Both let you move funds to your wallet and then spend or withdraw, but if you need cash urgently, check whether daily transfer limits could slow you down. For an emergency fund, easy access matters as much as the rate.
App reliability. Both GCash and Maya have had downtime. If an app is down during a real emergency, that's a problem, so it helps not to keep everything in one place. If one app is unavailable, you still have the other to pull funds from.
Customer service. This matters just as much. Check whether you can actually reach support easily, because if something goes wrong, you want a way to sort it out.
Which one should you choose?
There's no single right answer. It depends on how you already use each app day to day.
You may not have to choose at all. Neither a GCash nor a Maya account has a maintaining balance, so plenty of people simply use both.
Getting your wallet savings to work
Both GSave and Maya Savings pay far more than a traditional passbook, and both keep your money as a PDIC-insured bank deposit once it's in the savings account, not just the wallet. The cleanest move is to check today's in-app rate, shift spare cash out of the wallet and into the savings product, and let the calculator show you the after-tax number before you commit. Start with whichever app you already trust, and there's nothing stopping you from using both.