Digital wallet giants GCash and Maya have suspended in-app gaming access starting Saturday, 16 August, following an order from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The central bank, through Memorandum No. M-2025-029, directed all BSP-supervised financial institutions to halt the facilitation of online gaming through their apps and websites as part of efforts to strengthen consumer safeguards and promote responsible financial use.

GCash announced that access to gaming via its GLife feature was cut off at 8 PM on Saturday. Users were given until the same time to transfer funds from their gaming accounts back to their GCash wallets. After the deadline, any remaining balances can only be withdrawn directly through the gaming merchant’s website.

Maya implemented the same restriction, disabling its Games feature on 16 August at 8 PM. Customers were advised to retrieve any funds before the cut-off, after which withdrawals must be processed via the gaming provider’s platform.

Both fintech firms assured their customers that they are working closely with regulators to protect the financial health of Filipinos.

“GCash supports adopting stronger safeguards on online gaming and will continue to work with regulators and industry partners to protect the financial health of Filipinos,” the company said in its advisory.

Maya, meanwhile, said it fully backs the BSP’s move to build “a safe, responsible, and resilient financial system for all Filipinos.”