Last checked 10 October 2026
Yes, money sent from abroad can go straight into a Maya wallet in the Philippines. Five international services name Maya on their own pages, and Maya’s own guide adds Western Union and MoneyGram. Before you choose one, check two things: whether your recipient’s Maya account is upgraded, and how much the service lets you send to a wallet in one transfer. The caps differ more than the partner lists do.
Maya used to be called PayMaya, and some providers still use the old name. Wise describes it as “Maya (formerly known as PayMaya)”. It is the same wallet.
The short answer
- Remitly, Wise, WorldRemit, Taptap Send and Ria each name Maya on their own pages as a wallet they pay into.
- Western Union offers a wallet option labelled “GCash, Ma… & more” on its German site, and Maya’s own guide names Western Union as a partner. From Germany it caps transfers to any wallet other than GCash at €750.
- Wise, WorldRemit and Taptap Send each publish a cap of ₱50,000 per transfer to Maya.
- The recipient’s account must be upgraded. WorldRemit says a transfer to a wallet that is not upgraded is cancelled automatically and the money goes back to the sender.
What each service publishes
Read on 10 October 2026, on each provider’s Germany pages where one exists. Limits are set per sending country, so the version for your country can differ.
| Service | What it says about Maya | Published cap into Maya |
|---|---|---|
| Remitly | Lists “Maya” with mobile wallet and bank deposit, and “Maya Bank, Inc” separately for bank deposit | None on the pages we read |
| Wise | Sends to “Maya (formerly known as PayMaya)” and seven other wallets | ₱50,000 per transfer to a mobile wallet |
| WorldRemit | Names GCash, GrabPay, Maya and ShopeePay; credits “within minutes” | ₱50,000 per transfer, and ₱100,000 a month into the wallet |
| Taptap Send | Delivers to “GCash, Maya (PayMaya)”, banks and Cebuana cash pickup | Up to ₱50,000 per transaction, “subject to your recipient’s wallet verification status” |
| Western Union | Wallet option “GCash, Ma… & more”; Maya’s guide names Western Union | €750 per transfer for wallets other than GCash (GCash: €5,000) |
| Ria | Lists PayMaya among six wallets | None on its Germany page |
“None on the pages we read” means we did not find a figure. It does not mean there is no limit. Your provider’s app shows the limit for your own account before you pay.
Maya’s own claim guide also names MoneyGram, which it says pays into a Maya Visa card. MoneyGram’s Germany page for the Philippines returned “Not found” on 10 October, so we have not checked MoneyGram’s side.
Upgrade the account before anyone sends
Maya has Basic and Upgraded accounts. Maya’s page for Remitly transfers tells recipients to “complete the free account upgrade process so you can start receiving international remittance”. The upgrade asks for a video selfie, a valid ID, a verified address and verified personal information.
WorldRemit says what happens if that step is skipped. If the Maya wallet is not upgraded, the transfer “will be automatically cancelled” and the money is returned to the sender. Ask your recipient to check their account level before you pay.
Maya’s own limits
Maya publishes one main ceiling for each account level, which it calls the wallet balance monthly limit:
| Account | Wallet balance monthly limit |
|---|---|
| Basic | ₱50,000 |
| Upgraded | ₱100,000 |
| Super Users | ₱500,000 |
| Ultimate Users | ₱5,000,000 |
The limit covers everything that comes in during the month, not each payment separately. Maya gives its own example: a Basic user who moved ₱10,000 in from a Metrobank account “can only receive 40K for the rest of this month”. WorldRemit describes the same thing from the sender’s side, as a maximum of ₱100,000 “of total remittances and/or credits to the wallet per month”.
Two more points from Maya’s page. It says the monthly limit “is subject to change”. And it lists the Super Users and Ultimate Users levels without explaining, on that page, how an account reaches them. Your recipient can see their own figures in the app: tap the profile button at the top left, then Account Limits.
A higher Maya level does not raise the provider’s cap. Even with room for ₱500,000 a month, a single transfer through Wise, WorldRemit or Taptap Send stops at ₱50,000.
Western Union: a lower cap for Maya than for GCash
With the wallet option selected, Western Union’s German calculator says: “You can send up to 5,000.00 EUR with GCash. For other wallets, the limit is up to 750.00 EUR.” Maya is one of the other wallets. At the rate Western Union showed us for €100 on 10 October, ₱71.4322 per euro, €750 comes to about ₱53,600. Western Union’s rate changes with the amount, so treat that as a rough guide.
Maya’s guide describes a second way to receive Western Union money: a claim inside the app. The recipient opens Maya, taps Add Money, chooses Western Union, enters the 10-digit MTCN from the sender’s transaction, checks the sender’s name and amount, and taps Receive. Maya marks this as available for upgraded accounts only.
Western Union also warns that “SMS and account cash-out fees” may be charged to the recipient’s wallet by the wallet provider. That cost is not in the quote you see.
Maya Bank is a separate destination
Maya’s banking services are run by a separate company, Maya Bank, Inc. Remitly lists it on its own, for bank deposit only. A payment into the Maya wallet and a deposit into a Maya Bank account are different payouts that need different details. If your recipient says “send it to my Maya”, ask which one they mean.
For amounts above the wallet caps, bank deposit is the route with higher limits. Wise allows up to ₱70 million per transfer to a bank account. Taptap Send’s bank transfers start at ₱50,000 and have no maximum. Whether a given service can deposit into a Maya Bank account depends on its own bank list. Remitly is the only one we saw name Maya Bank.
Maya or GCash, if your recipient has both
Here are the published figures side by side. GCash raised its limits on 1 October 2026, and the GCash column uses the new figures.
| GCash | Maya | |
|---|---|---|
| Account level needed for remittances | Fully Verified | Upgraded |
| Monthly ceiling at that level | ₱500,000 incoming | ₱100,000 |
| Western Union from Germany, per transfer | €5,000 | €750 |
| Taptap Send, per transaction | ₱50,000 to ₱100,000 | Up to ₱50,000 |
| Wise and WorldRemit, per transfer | ₱50,000 | ₱50,000 |
Below ₱50,000 per transfer, the caps are the same, and the choice comes down to price and which wallet your recipient actually uses. Above that, GCash has more room: a higher monthly ceiling at the usual verified level, and higher published caps at Western Union and, by its wording, Taptap Send.
We compared what six providers paid into GCash for the same euro amounts on 4 October: sending money from Germany to GCash, six providers compared. We have not compared prices into Maya.
What to ask your recipient for
- Their full name exactly as registered in Maya.
- The mobile number registered to the Maya wallet. WorldRemit says the wallet number is the Philippine mobile number used to open the wallet.
- Confirmation that the account is upgraded.
- How much room is left this month, from Account Limits in the app.
- Whether they mean the Maya wallet or a Maya Bank account.
If the money does not arrive
Start with the service you sent through. You hold the receipt and the reference number, and only the sender can open a case with the provider. Check the transfer status, the number and the name, as we describe for GCash in money sent to GCash from abroad hasn’t arrived. The sending side works the same way for Maya.
If the provider shows the transfer as delivered and the wallet shows nothing, the recipient should also contact Maya. Maya lists a hotline on (+632) 8845-7788 (toll-free in the Philippines on 1-800-1084-57788) and 24/7 chat in the app, and its Remitly page gives support@maya.ph. If the wrong number was entered, contact the provider straight away. The steps in sent money to the wrong GCash number from abroad apply here too.
Questions people ask
Can Maya receive money from abroad?
Yes, into an upgraded account. Remitly, Wise, WorldRemit, Taptap Send and Ria all name Maya as a wallet they pay into, and Maya’s own guide covers Western Union and MoneyGram.
Is PayMaya the same as Maya?
Yes. Wise calls it “Maya (formerly known as PayMaya)”, Taptap Send writes “Maya (PayMaya)”, and Ria still lists it as PayMaya.
What is the most I can send to Maya in one transfer?
It depends on the provider. Wise, WorldRemit and Taptap Send cap it at ₱50,000. Western Union from Germany caps it at €750. Remitly and Ria publish no figure on the pages we read. On top of that, your recipient’s monthly limit applies: ₱100,000 for an upgraded account, including everything else received that month.
Will my recipient get pesos?
Yes. WorldRemit says Philippine pesos only for mobile money, and Remitly lists PHP as the currency for Maya.
Does it cost the recipient anything?
WorldRemit says it charges the recipient nothing extra, though “some local operators may charge them a fee when they withdraw funds as cash”. Western Union says the wallet provider may charge SMS and cash-out fees. We did not find a Maya fee for receiving a remittance on the pages we read.
How we checked this
Read on 10 October 2026 in a browser located in Finland:
- Maya’s pages: account limits, for the account levels, the upgrade requirements and the monthly example; the claim-remittance guide, for the Western Union steps and the MoneyGram note; and the Remitly partner page, for the upgrade requirement and the support email.
- Providers’ Germany pages: Remitly’s Maya and Maya Bank pages; WorldRemit’s mobile money page, for its partners, caps, speed and the upgrade rule; Western Union’s calculator with the wallet option selected, for the €750 and €5,000 limits; and Ria’s Philippines page, for its wallet list.
- Other provider pages: Wise’s guide to PHP transfers, and Taptap Send’s Philippines page, which is not specific to one sending country.
- GCash: the help centre’s limits page, for the figures in force from 1 October 2026.
We made no test transfers and did not compare prices into Maya. Western Union’s wallet option label is cut off on its own site (“GCash, Ma… & more”), so we rely on Maya’s guide for the partnership. Maya’s limits page carries a 2022 copyright line, but it is the page Maya links to today from its remittance guides.
Sources
- Maya: Account limits
- Maya: Claim remittance
- Maya: Remitly transfers to Maya
- Remitly (Germany): send money to Maya
- Remitly (Germany): send money to Maya Bank, Inc
- Wise help centre: Guide to PHP transfers
- WorldRemit (Germany): mobile money to the Philippines
- Taptap Send: send money to the Philippines
- Western Union (Germany): send money, wallet option
- Ria (Germany): send money to the Philippines
- GCash help centre: What are my GCash wallet and transaction limits?
Related
- Can you send money to GCash from abroad?
- Sending money from Germany to GCash: six providers compared
- Should you send one large transfer or several smaller ones?
Afromium does not make test transfers. Every figure on this page was read from the named source on the date given and is quoted, not estimated, except the peso value of €750, which we calculated and say so. Providers change partners and limits without notice. Check the current page and your own app before you act on anything here.