Quick answer
Both apps let you earn interest, but they are built differently, so a straight rate-versus-rate comparison can mislead. GSave is a savings feature inside GCash that places your money with a partner bank. GCash's Help Center says the base rate for CIMB GSave, CIMB Grow and GSave Overseas changed from 2.60% to 2.30% a year as of June 1, 2026. Maya Savings is held at Maya Bank, and Maya's own pages describe a 3% a year base rate credited daily, plus boosted rates of up to 15% a year that depend on conditions and balance limits. Rates change, so treat every number here as a note dated November 9, 2026 and confirm it in the app before you move any money.
What you are actually comparing
The key thing to separate is your everyday wallet balance from a savings account. The money you keep in the wallet to pay at stores or send to a friend is not the same thing as the money you place in a savings product. Interest belongs to the savings product, and each app has its own way of setting it up.
In GCash, savings runs through GSave, which works with partner banks. The Help Center's rate pages are written around CIMB-based products such as GSave and CIMB Grow, and the GSave category also lists other partner accounts with their own rates and limits. In Maya, savings is Maya Savings, a product of Maya Bank, Inc., the digital bank that sits next to the Maya wallet. So one app sends your money to a partner, and the other keeps it in a bank it operates itself. That difference matters for protection and for how rates are set, which is why we cover it in the guides on deposit insurance and on whether Maya is a bank or a wallet.
GSave: what GCash says on its own pages
GCash's Help Center is the source to trust for GSave. As of the date above, it says the base rate for CIMB GSave, CIMB Grow and GSave Overseas is 2.30% a year, down from 2.60% on June 1, 2026. It also warns that some iOS screens may still show the older 2.60% figure, which is a good reminder that the number you see on one screen is not always the current one.
For the GSave by CIMB account, the Help Center says there is no minimum deposit and no maintaining balance. Interest is credited to the account monthly. The formula it publishes is the average daily end-of-day balance, multiplied by the monthly rate, multiplied by one minus the withholding tax, which it states as 20%. If you want to see that formula with real numbers, the worked examples guide walks through it step by step.
Other GSave partner accounts exist, and they are not all the same. If you open one that is not the CIMB account, read its own rate, deposit and withdrawal limits instead of assuming the CIMB terms apply.
Maya Savings: what Maya says on its own pages
Maya's articles describe a base interest rate of 3% a year on Maya Savings, with interest credited daily. They also describe a boosted rate that can reach 15% a year. The boost is not automatic. It depends on activity conditions that Maya sets, and Maya's own wording indicates it applies to a limited portion of your balance. Maya also says the base rate applies to your total deposit balance.
You may see other sources quote different effective dates for Maya's base rate, and some say 3.5% for earlier months. We do not rely on those. Maya's official pages are the reference, and the safest habit is to open the savings screen in the app and read the rate it shows today.
Maya Bank's pages also state that it is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and that deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation up to ₱1,000,000 per depositor. That statement covers the bank deposit, not the balance in your wallet.
Why headline rates mislead
A headline number such as "up to 15%" describes the top case, not the typical case. Three things sit between the headline and what you earn.
- Conditions. A boosted rate usually has to be earned again each period by doing certain things in the app. If you stop, the rate falls back to the base.
- Caps. A boosted rate may apply to only part of your balance. The rest earns the base rate.
- Timing. Rates are changed from time to time, sometimes with only a short notice. A comparison page written months ago may describe a rate that no longer exists.
The fair way to compare is base against base first, then ask whether you will realistically meet the conditions for a boost. If you will not do the extra activity, the base rate is the number that matters to you.
A simple way to decide
You do not need to pick a winner for everyone. Ask yourself a few plain questions instead.
- How much will I actually keep in savings, and for how long?
- Do I want to set it and forget it, or am I happy to meet monthly conditions for a higher rate?
- Do I want my savings in the same app I use to pay, or in a separate place?
- Do I understand who holds the money, a partner bank or the app's own bank?
If you want low effort, the base rates are the comparison to read. If you enjoy optimizing, read Maya's boost conditions closely and decide whether the extra activity is worth the effort at the amount you save. Many people keep an emergency fund in one place and use the other app for daily spending, which is a common two-app setup we describe in the guide on using both.
Checklist before you move money
- Open the savings screen in the app and write down the base rate and today's date.
- Read the conditions for any boosted rate, including the balance limit.
- Check how and when interest is credited, daily or monthly.
- Check any deposit or withdrawal limits that apply to that product.
- Decide how much to leave in the wallet for everyday spending.
- Set a reminder to look at the rate again in a few weeks.
What this guide does not do
This is an independent explainer. It is not financial advice, it does not rank the apps, and it does not tell you where to put your money. Interest rates, conditions and limits are set by GCash, its partner banks and Maya, and they can change at any time. When this page and the app disagree, the app is right.