Coins.ph Review – Beginner’s Guide

If you’re looking for a Coins.ph review and a beginner’s guide then read on. This post will contain my personal review of the app and also some helpful tips on how to use your Coins. ph account. By the way, please be reminded that some information on this post might not be updated by the time you read this article. Be sure to do your own diligence by checking Coins.ph website or your Coins. ph app for the most updated information.

I’m just a part-time blogger or a blogging hobbyist if you will, and I might not be able to update all articles at the same time these websites/apps send out their updates. So again, kindly do your own due diligence in double-checking any information you read online. Thanks!

Anyway, let’s get back to the topic, shall we?

Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash

Why Did I Sign-up for Coins.ph?

I already have accounts with other digital banks and e-wallets such as CIMB, Diskartech, Komo, and GCash, so why did I sign up for another one?

My main reason for signing up with Coins.ph is because of cryptocurrencies. A couple of months ago, I signed up with Binance to try investing and trading cryptocurrencies. And as of the time of writing, one of the best ways for me to convert my crypto into fiat, specifically into Philippine Peso is by transferring it to Coins.ph.

Sure, I can do P2P trading on Binance and sell it to Philippine crypto buyers. But as of the time being, I find it more convenient to just transfer it to Coins.ph and use the funds for other financial transactions such as bills payment. I’ve done a test transfer already and I will probably make another post about it (coz I forgot to take screenshots lol!).

I’m surprised at how seamless the process is. It might look confusing and intimidating at first but once you’ve done it, it’s not really that difficult.

To be honest, this is so far the only reason why I signed up with Coins.ph because I already have other digital bank accounts. But if you don’t have any other digital bank accounts or e-wallets then you will surely find Coins.ph to be very convenient to use even if you don’t dabble in cryptocurrencies.

What is Coins.ph?

Coins.ph is a free mobile wallet that lets users access financial services even without a bank account. It was founded in 2014 in the Philippines and it’s one of the first blockchain-backed platforms being used by millions of people.

The app has a lot of features that will be of great help to its users, especially for unbanked individuals as they can now access various financial services such as online bills payment via Coins.ph.

Is Coins.ph Safe to Use?

The quick answer is Yes. Especially if you also know how to secure your digital account. Just like any other financial website or app, they can provide a certain level of security but you also have to do your own share as a responsible user such as not giving your password or pin to anyone and not accessing an unsecured internet connection, etc.

They are also regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as a licensed Virtual Currency Exchange, Electronic Money Issuer (EMI), and Remittance and Transfer Agent (RA). And, they are subject to the rules and regulations set forth by the BSP and the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).

And also, under strict regulatory requirements, Coins.ph operate with a very high level of security, with industry-standard measures such as SSL connections to AES-225 Encryption.

How to Sign-up for Coins.ph Account?

Signing up is easy!

You can create a Coins.ph account via App or via the website. If you opt to download the app, it’s available on both Google Play Store and Apple IOS.

Once you have downloaded the app, just follow the instructions and provide the needed information and you’re all set.

To maximize its full benefits, I highly suggest that you verify your account. In order to verify your account, you will need to upload a valid ID and a selfie.

The following forms of government ID are accepted for verification purposes:

• Passport
• Driver’s License (including Student Permits with official receipt)
• Social Security System (SSS) Card (date of birth must be visible on the ID)
• Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID
• Postal ID (old postal IDs must have a photo of both front and back)
• Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID)
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance
• Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ID
• Philippine National Police (PNP) ID
• Bureau of Fire Protection ID
• Certification from the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
• Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Certification
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) e-Card
• OFW ID
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ID
• Police Clearance Certificate or Police Clearance Card
• Seaman’s Books
• National Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID
• Alien Certification of Registration or Immigrant Certificate of Registration

For foreign customers, you may also submit your international passport to ensure that compliance with Philippine regulations.

For customers aged 14-17, it is necessary to complete and submit the Parental Consent Form first to proceed with the verification process. Due to local regulations, Coins.ph can only accept school ID submissions for customers aged 14-17. Hence, school ID submissions by customers aged 18 and above are considered invalid.

If you are married or have changed your name, you would need to provide Coins.ph with your supporting documents such as your marriage certificate or birth certificate, respectively, to have your ID verified.

Please be advised though that even if you don’t verify your account with an ID and a Selfie, you can still use Coins.ph to transact (but you can’t cash out though). There are different limits depending on the level of verification that you have completed.

Here’s a screenshot of the Limits and Verifications (taken as of the time of writing). Please be aware that this is subject to change, so be sure to check Coins.ph website for the updated information.

My Personal Experience with the Sign-up Process

I did have some minor issues during the sign-up process mainly because I used to have an unverified account with Coins.ph in the past. However, I already lost access to the old email address that I previously sign-up with. I contacted support for their assistance and after some time, I was able to complete the sign-up process.

What Can You Do with your Coins.ph Account?

There are so many things that you can do with your Coins.ph account and some of those include (but not limited to):

Bills Payment

You can pay various utilities via your Coins.ph. I’m expecting that the list of billers will just continue to grow for the years to come, but as of now, these are the billers that are available:

Electric Utilities

• Davao Light
• Meralco
• Meralco Kuryente Load
• Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO)
• VECO

Broadband Internet

• Converge ICT
• Globe Broadband
• Innove Comunications, Inc.
• Smart Broadband

Credit Card

• BPI
• Metrobank
• RCBC Bankard
• Tiaong Rural Bank

Cable Channel Provider

• Cablelink
• Cignal Postpaid
• Cignal Postpaid E-Pins
• Destiny Cable, Inc.
• Sky Cable
• Wi-Tribe

Donations

• Append
• Bakhita Canossa Foundation Inc. Philanthropic Development Office
• Caritas Manila
• Gawad Kalinga
• Greg Durante Ministries
• House of Hope Foundation (Davao)
• International Care Ministries
• Knights of Rizal
• Let’s Save the Brain Foundation Inc.
• Letran Quadricentennial Fund
• Library Renewal Partnership
• Philippine Animal Rescue Team (PART)
• Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation
• Philippine Foundation for Breast Care
• San Jose Seminary
• Shared Aid Fund for Emergency Response
• Virlanie Foundation
• YesPinoy Foundation, Inc.

Government

• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
• Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Amortization
• Pag-IBIG Membership Savings
• Pilipinas Teleserv, Inc. (NSO)
• SSS

Insurance

• BIMA Philippines
• Fortune Care

Merchants

• InvestEd
• Luxe In
• PawnHero
• PeraJet
• Seedin Philippines
• Taxumo
• Urban Ashram Yoga – BGC Branch
• Urban Ashram Yoga – Pasig Branch

Stocks and Securities

• First Metro Securities
• MyTrade by Abacus Securities

Telecom

• ABS-CBN Mobile
• Bayantel
• Globe Telecom
• PLDT
• Smart Communications Inc.
• Sun Cellular (Postpaid)

Water Utilities

• Laguna Water
• Manila Water
• Maynilad

Buy Load

You can also ‘Buy Load’ via Coins.ph and you can get a 10% rebate on your first P2000 worth of Buy Load transactions per month. After you reach that limit, you’ll get 5% rebate on succeeding transactions. This resets on a monthly basis.

Buy and Sell Crypto

You can buy and send Bitcoin, Etherium, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP via Coins.ph. Personally, I prefer trading using Binance because Binance is a trading platform, and Coins.ph is primarily an e-wallet. And also, there are more options when it comes to trading on Binance since it’s really an Exchange platform.

I do see myself doing limited crypto trading on Coins.ph specifically transferring XRP to Coins.ph from Binance and then selling (converting) it to Philippine Pesos. As of now, seems to be XRP the cheapest and fastest crypto to transact from Binance to XRP. I will write a separate post about it and I will link it here.

Update as of July 19, 2021:

Coins.ph has recently announced that they will be adding three additional cryptos!

In case you missed it, USDC, Chainlink, and KNC are now available on https://t.co/ehQWvZjBQo!

*In order to access the new tokens, please update your app to the latest version.

Download the Coins Wallet app now for FREE: https://t.co/2SCxIQMzWd pic.twitter.com/hlMzDoAyqJ

— Coins.ph (@coinsph) July 19, 2021

Game Credits

You can pay for your games and game items for 20,000+ titles without needing a credit card via Coins.ph. I’m not a gamer so this feature will definitely be left untouched by me. 😉

Remit

If you’re at least a Level 2 verified account, you can also send/remit/transfer money to the following:

Banks

• Al-Amanah Islamic Bank
• AllBank (A Thrift Bank) Inc.
• Allied Bank Corporation
• Asia United Bank
• Australia & New Zealand Bank (ANZ)
• BDO
• BDO Network Bank, Inc.
• BPI
• BPI Family Savings Bank
• Bangko Mabuhay (A Rural Bank), Inc.
• Bangkok Bank Public Co., Ltd.
• Bank of America, Nat’l. Ass’n.
• Bank of China
• Bank of Commerce
• Bank of Florida (A Rural Bank)
• Binangonan Rural Bank (BRBDigital)
• CIMB Bank Philippines, Inc.
• CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corporation
• Camalig Bank
• Cantilan Bank
• Card Bank, Inc.
• Cebuana Lhuiller Rural Bank, Inc.
• China Bank Savings
• China Banking Corporation
• Citibank, N.A.
• Community Rural Bank of Romblon
• Deutsche Bank
• Development Bank of the Philippines
• Dungganon Bank, Inc.
• EastWest Bank
• EastWest Rural Bank/Komo
• Equicom Savings Bank, Inc.
• First COnsolidated Bank
• Guagua Rural Bank
• HK and Shanghai Banking Corp.
• HSBC Savings Bank
• ING Bank N.V.
• ISLA Bank (A Thrift Bank), Inc.
• Industrial Bank of Korea – Manila
• Innovative Bank (Innobank), Inc.
• JPMorgan Chase Bank
• Keb Hana Bank
• Land Bank of the Philippines
• MUFG Bank, Ltd
• Malayan Bank Savings and Mortgage Bank, Inc.
• Maybank Philippines, Inc.
• Mega Int’l Comml Bank Co. Ltd
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company
• Mizuho Bank, Ltd
• Partner Rural Bank (Cotabato), Inc.
• Philippine Bank of Communications
• Philippine Business Bank, Inc., A Savings Bank
• Philippine National Bank
• Philippine Savings Bank
• Philippine Trust Company
• Philippine Veterans Bank
• Planters Bank
• Producers Savings Bank
• Queen City Development Bank
• Quezon Capital Rural Bank, Inc
• RCBC Savings Bank, inc.
• RCBC/DiskarTech
• Rang-ay Bank, Inc. (A Rural Bank)
• Robinsons Bank Corporation
• Rural Bank of Digos
• Rural Bank of Guinobatan
• Security Bank Corporation
• Security Bank Savings
• Shinhan Bank
• Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc., A Savings Bank
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
• Sun Savings Bank, Inc.
• The Standard Chartered Bank
• UCPB Savings Bank, inc.
• Union Bank of the Philippines
• United Coconut Planters Bank
• United Overseas Bank Phils.
• Wealth Development Bank Corporation
• Yuanta Savings Bank Philippines, Inc.

E-Wallets

• GCash
• GrabPay Philippines
• PayMaya Philippines, Inc.
• Starpay

Remittance Centers

• LBC Instant Peso Padala
• M Lhuiller Cash Pickup
• Palawan Express Pera Padal

Please note that this list is of course subject to changes so be sure to check with Coins.ph to confirm information. I got this information from their app and I thought that it might be helpful to share this with you if you have not signed up yet.

Other Services

You can also load your beep™ card and reload your easytrip RFID and Autosweep RFID using Coins.ph. You can also book flights and hotels via Taveloka, AirAsia and you can also pay for your EasyBus, Bookie.ph, and Sun Cruises bookings.

You can also buy Gift Cards, received Western Union Funds, shop online with Shopee, and more.

How to Cash-in Using Coins.ph?

There are multiple ways to Cash-in or to add funds to your Coins.ph account.

E-Wallets

• PayMaya
• GCash

Online Bank Transfer

• AllBank (A Thrift Bank) Inc.
• Asia United Bank
• Bangko Mabuhay (A Rural Bank)
• Bank of Commerce
• Bank of Commerce Online Banking
• Binangonan Rural Bank (BRBDigital)
• CIMB
• CTBC Bank (Philippines)
• Camalig Bank
• Card Bank, Inc.
• Cebuana Lhuiller Rural Bank
• China Bank Savings
• China Banking Corporation
• Development Bank of the Philippines
• Dungganon Bank, Inc
• EastWest Bank
• EastWest Rural Bank/Komo
• Equicom Savings Bank, Inc.
• ING Bank N.V.
• ISLA Bank (A Thrift Bank), Inc.
• Land Bank of the Philippines
• Malayan Bank Savings and Mortgage Bank, Inc.
• Maybank Philippines, Inc.
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company
• Omnipay, Inc.
• PNB Savings Bank
• Partner Rural Bank (Cotabato), Inc.
• Philippine Bank of Communications
• Philippine Business Bank, Inc. A Savings Bank
• Philippine National Bank
• Philippine Savings Bank
• Philippine Trust Company
• Philippine Veterans Bank
• Producers Savings Bank
• Quezon Capital Rural Bank, Inc
• RCBC Savings Bank, Inc.
• RCBC/DiskarTech
• Robinsons Bank Corporation
• Rural Bank of Guinobatan
• Sun Savings Bank, Inc.
• Security Bank Corporation
• Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc., A Savings Bank
• UCPB Savings Bank, Inc.
• Unionbank Online Banking
• Unionbank of the Philippines
• United Coconut Planters Bank
• Wealth Development Bank Corporation
• Yuanta Savings Bank Philippines, Inc.

Over-the-counter Banking

• BPI (via DragonPay)
• Chinabank (via DragonPay)
• UnionBank Over-the-counter

Remittance Centers

• Bayad Center
• Cebuana Lhuiller Instant Cash In
• LBC Bills Xpress via DragonPay
• M Lhuiller ePay
• Palawan Pawnshop
• PeraHub
• Tambunting Pawnshop

Department Stores

• Robinsons Business Center via DragonPay
• SM Bills Payment Center via DragonPay

International Options

• Remitly
• Ria Money Transfer
• Western Union
• WorldRemit

Kiosk Payments

• Posible
• TouchPay Kiosk
• eTap Deposit

Another way to cash-in and the main reason why I signed up is to convert my crypto from Binance to fiat (Philippine Peso). As I have mentioned earlier, I will write a separate post about this and I will link it here once it becomes available.

How to Cash-out Using Coins.ph?

You can cash-out via the partners that I have mentioned on the ‘remit’ sub-category. Again, please take note that this list is subject to change so be sure to check the Coins.ph website or app.

Final Thoughts

Coins.ph definitely has a niche in this e-wallet market because as of this time, they’re the only e-wallet in the Philippines that I know of where you could send your crypto (BTC, ETH, XRP, and BCH) from exchanges and other crypto-wallets and convert it to Philippine Pesos.

However, I’m sure that in due time, other popular e-wallets in the Philippines such as GCash and PayMaya (and perhaps even digital banks) will eventually catch-up especially with the trajectory of mass adaption to cryptocurrency usage.