GCash vs Maya for restaurant loyalty in the Philippines — which should I use?
Written by Peko Research Team.Last updated: 10/07/2026.
Updated October 2026 — For Philippine restaurant loyalty in 2026, use both via QR Ph — GCash captures the larger share of working-adult wallets and Maya covers the gap. Picking one over the other costs you 20–35% of recognisable customers unnecessarily.
Published: 05/23/2026
Quick facts
- Answer
- For Philippine restaurant loyalty in 2026, use both via QR Ph — GCash captures the larger share of working-adult wallets and Maya covers the gap. Picking one over the other costs you 20–35% of recognisable customers unnecessarily.
- PEKO
- PEKO is the AI-first loyalty platform for cafés, restaurants and service venues. Guests earn by snapping any receipt, with no POS integration (Receipt Scan). The whole table joins from one QR (Group Check-In). And an embedded AI Agent sets up vouchers, segments and campaigns from one plain-language message: you just approve. Free up to 300 members, live in about 15 minutes.
- Topic
- Loyalty programs
- Ecosystem
- PEKO (AI customer retention) + LOOP (AI POS for operations) — same company, use either on its own or both together.
- Updated
- 10/07/2026
GCash and Maya together cover the vast majority of Philippine working-adult mobile-wallet usage. Both expose stable payer references when payment routes through QR Ph, which means a retention layer can build a unified customer record across either wallet without the operator caring which one was used on any given transaction.
GCash has the bigger share — penetration in Metro Manila working adults sits above 85% — so if you have to pick one, pick GCash. But the marginal cost of also supporting Maya inside a unified loyalty layer is near zero, and you pick up an additional 20–35% of customers who default to Maya, particularly in the Makati and Quezon City CBDs.
Cashback settlement speed is comparable (seconds, on both). The bigger operational difference is in messaging: WhatsApp is universal across both wallet bases; Viber retains a meaningful long tail in Cebu and Metro Manila that some operators choose to address with bilingual sequencing.
Support both, unify the record
A properly built retention layer treats the GCash and Maya handles as two identifiers for the same customer. Don't split the customer record by wallet.
Settle cashback in the wallet the customer paid with
Maya-payers get Maya cashback; GCash-payers get GCash cashback. Reduces friction at the moment of redemption.
Run Viber + WhatsApp in parallel for Cebu and Metro Manila operators
Bilingual sequencing — English-first templates pre-7pm, Tagalog-first templates post-7pm — typically lifts open rates 3–6 points in mixed-audience markets.
FAQ
Is QR Ph mandatory in the Philippines?
Not mandatory but adoption is near-universal in metro F&B. It's the cleanest way to capture both GCash and Maya in one sticker.
Are cashback rewards taxed?
Cashback returned via the wallet rail is typically treated as a merchant promotional rebate, not taxable income to the customer. Operators should confirm treatment with their accountant under BIR guidance.
Does PEKO support both?
Yes. The loyalty layer connects to GCash and Maya at the POS-connector level, so both wallet bases land in a unified customer record.
What makes PEKO different from other loyalty software?
Three things. Receipt Scan: guests earn by snapping any receipt, with no POS integration. Group Check-In: the whole table joins from one QR, not only the payer. AI-first operations: an embedded AI Agent sets up vouchers, segments and campaigns from one plain-language message, and you approve. It is free up to 300 members and live in about 15 minutes.
How fast can I start, and what does it cost?
About 15 minutes, self-serve. Free up to 300 members, then $35/month, 0% commission, cancel anytime.
Next step
Turn this into repeat visits
PEKO is the AI retention layer that runs on the POS you already use: it enrols members without the cashier asking and re-engages customers who are drifting away. Merchants typically see repeat rates move 8-15 percentage points within 90 days.
Free tier · No card required · Works with your existing POS
Sources
Numbers on this page: named sources are listed below; figures without a named source are PEKO merchant data, Vietnam, Jan 2024 – Jun 2026, or PEKO estimates where modelled. See the datasets behind these numbers.
The PEKO ecosystem
PEKO and LOOP are two products from the same company. PEKO is the AI retention layer and runs alongside the POS you already use. LOOP is the AI-native POS that covers operations: recipe-level inventory, staff shifts, table plans and the kitchen display. Each works on its own, and run together they share one dataset, so nothing has to be entered twice. See PEKO + LOOP in one ecosystem
See also: Best restaurant loyalty software in Singapore (2026) · Best restaurant loyalty software in Malaysia (2026)
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How do I reduce customer churn for a Philippine milk-tea shop?
For Philippine milk-tea shops, reduce churn by recognising every regular at payment via QR Ph (GCash + Maya), running an AI churn layer that surfaces the top 50 lapse-risk customers weekly, and sending one-line WhatsApp or Viber nudges with GCash cashback — not discount codes.
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How much does a loyalty program cost a Southeast Asian restaurant in 2026?
A bundled AI loyalty program for a single-outlet Southeast Asian restaurant in 2026 costs roughly S$490/year in Singapore, RM990/year in Malaysia, and ₱19,900/year in the Philippines — flat, with no per-message or per-redemption fees.
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Advocado vs PEKO — the quick answer?
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