Forget Cash! Here’s Why You Should Start Paying With Bitcoins
Pinoys should be taking advantage of the benefits of a Bitcoin wallet, more specifically Bitcoin wallets powered by local technopreneurs such as coins.ph, rebit.ph, and buybitcoins.ph. Contrary to what skeptics are claiming, Bitcoin is a safe currency that is not only a good investment, but it has also provided a platform that opened a world of convenience and savings for its users. Besides, signing up and using the app is free! So, what’s holding you back?
If you aren’t using one right now, you’re missing out on the awesome savings that you could get and the convenience that you deserve such as the following:
How to use your Bitcoins
1. Reload your phone credit
One of the handy features that a Bitcoin wallet offers is the ability for its users to reload their phone whenever they want, wherever they want! It doesn’t matter which network you are on, if you have credits on your Bitcoin wallet, you’ll never run out of cellphone credits.
If you plan to stay away from those expensive postpaid plans, this is the solution that you are looking for. You can also reload for your friends or family members. This is also perfect for parents who want to moderate their child’s phone credit spending.
Some Bitcoin wallets even reward you for using their services to reload your phone credit. Some wallets offer 5% refund every time you reload your prepaid line through the platform. So, if you load ₱100 to your phone, you’ll only be paying ₱95. This can be a good business opportunity for people who are interested in setting up their own e-loading business (more on this below!).
2. Pay your bills
From utility bills, postpaid plans, credit card bills, Internet subscription, cable provider, SSS and Philhealth contributions, and even tuition fees (for some schools), you can easily settle them with just a few clicks with no additional cost using a Bitcoin wallet! Paying your bills doesn’t have to be a chore.
Many Pinoys don’t really see the real value of an automated way of paying their bill. Aside from the fact that it’s convenient, it will also help you save money!
One of the biggest advantages of using a Bitcoin wallet is that you get rebates every time you use it to pay your bills and reload your phone’s credits. For every unique bill that you pay using a Bitcoin wallet, you get a ₱5 rebate. If in a week, you pay five unique bills, you’ll get an additional ₱100 rebate!
| Single bill | ₱5.00 |
| 5 unique bills paid in a week | ₱100.00 |
| Total rebates you will earn for a bill of five in a week | ₱125.00 |
Less hassle and less cost
So, that’s ₱125 earned just by paying five of your bills! Who else would give you that much money just for fulfilling your monthly obligations?
Aside from that, you’ll save yourself from spending a couple of hundred of pesos from getting to one payment center to another.
According to numbeo.com, the average taxi fare in Manila is ₱150 (assuming the taxi driver won’t rip you off). That’s going to amount to ₱300 including your return fare. So, if we put things into perspective, you’ll end up spending ₱450 if you pay these bills in two (a conservative estimate) separate locations.
On the other hand, if you just pay using your Bitcoin wallet, not only will you get a rebate, but you will also spare a huge chunk of your budget which you could save for more important obligations.
You may feel that the amount you spend for your taxi fares doesn’t really impact your finances enough to affect your financial condition in the long run (in a month), but when you add them all up – it does. If you spend ₱450 a month on transportation to just pay your bills, it adds up to ₱5,400 in a year!
Tap into the earning opportunity
The e-loading business isn’t the only business opportunity that Bitcoin wallets could offer, that’s just small time! What’s hot now is the increasing value of Bitcoins. Despite claims of financial experts that its high-value doesn’t matter, they can’t deny the fact that Bitcoins are as good as real money. Today, as Bitcoin price relentlessly go up, many people who invested last year are already four times richer than they were then. Last year around April 2016, its value was roughly ₱20,000 per Bitcoin, today it quadrupled its value and is currently at ₱80,000 as of writing.
What this means is, if you bought 1 Bitcoin at ₱20,000 in April last year and you sell those Bitcoins today, you will be pocketing a cool ₱50,000 profit!
The basic principle of trading
While its current performance may not guarantee its value in the coming months or year, you can still do more with it than just wait for its value to go up after a few months. You see, Bitcoin wallets also teach you the basic principle of trading: you buy Bitcoin when the value goes down and sells it when its value goes up! That’s similar to trading Forex minus actual currencies.
If you are thinking of venturing into Forex trading, you could kickstart with Bitcoins. You can create an account in any of the Forex online platforms that accept Bitcoins and give it a go.
Forex trading has been a good source of income for the affluent in the Philippines, and with the growing popularity of Bitcoin wallets, it’s about time that everyone from all walks of life learn this and earn from it.
Reloading your account
Whether you need to add credits to your Bitcoin wallet or cash-out your funds, a bank account is not necessary.
There are many ways to purchase Bitcoins, the most common one is by using debit or credit card and buying from sites like buybitcoins.ph. Once the purchase is done, it will be credited to your Bitcoin wallet. The most common Bitcoin wallet in the Philippines which also comes with an app is coins.ph.
It’s also possible for people who don’t have a debit or credit card to purchase Bitcoins. Some apps allow you to choose your preferred payment method and your Bitcoin balance will automatically reflect the new balance once you have cashed in your Bitcoins.
The following are other payment methods available to reload your Bitcoins wallet:
| Establishment | Fee | Time-frame |
|---|---|---|
| 7-11 | ₱20/ ₱1000 | instant |
| Mlhullier | ₱60 any amount | instant |
| Cebuana Lhulllier | ₱10 per ₱1,000 (₱40 max.) | instant |
| G-Cash | ₱10 per ₱1,000 (₱40 max.) | instant |
Cashing-out your credits
Unlike Paypal which limits your capability to cash-out your funds online, certain Bitcoin wallets in the Philippines allow its users to do so without the need of a bank account and and the agonizing three business days clearing process before the money gets to the bank account.
For people with no bank accounts, you can encash your funds through remittance centers such as:
- Mlhullier
- LBC
- Palawan Express
- RD Pawnshop
- Tambunting Pawnshop
If they are cashed out before 10am, they can be claimed at 6pm on the same day. For cash-out done in the app after 10am they will be claimed at 6pm on the same day. There will be a fee though depending on the remittance center; they will be roughly around ₱10 to ₱100. The good news is, the fees aren’t really big enough to impact your finances.
Meanwhile, for people who want to do bank transfer, they won’t have to worry about the fees if they live in Metro Manila. The transfer is also within the same day if it was done before 10am, it’s going to be in your bank account on or before 6pm. You’re assured that you’ll get your money whenever you need it.
Be empowered
Being financially savvy isn’t really as difficult as you may think. Time to scratch that thinking and start trying it yourself. If there’s one thing that Filipinos deserve the most, it’s to be empowered in managing their finances better.
Being empowered doesn’t necessarily imply that you have a fortune in your savings account, it can also mean having an access to the resources that will make your financial obligations easier to deal with.
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