Over the past few years, digital finance products and services have gone from niche to normal. You can now pay for groceries, subscribe to a streaming service, transfer money to a friend, or complete all sorts of other financial tasks, all from your phone. In response, many banks and financial apps now offer both physical and digital debit cards to give customers more flexibility in how they access and spend their money.
This abundance of options, however, can also raise questions. Should you stick with a physical card, go fully virtual, or carry both? The right choice depends on your spending habits, lifestyle, and what kind of convenience or control you’re looking for. With Maya, you have access to both the digital and the physical Maya Card, which come with their own unique benefits designed to fit different needs.
In this short feature, we’ll walk you through the key differences between the two formats and help you decide how to make the most of them.
The Digital Maya Card: Instant, Secure, and Always with You
If you’ve ever signed up for a subscription or placed an online order and needed to enter card details immediately, you know the value of having a virtual card on hand. The digital Maya Card is issued the moment you activate it in the Maya app, so you get a fully functional payment method without the wait. It comes with its own card number, CVV, and expiry date, just like a physical card. Once activated, it’ll be ready to use wherever debit cards are accepted online.
What sets the digital Maya card apart is how it fits into a digital-first lifestyle. You can use it for topping up your mobile wallet, ordering food online, or even shopping from international e-commerce platforms. It’s an easy way to get seamless access to your wallet balance. And because it’s integrated into the Maya app, you get full control: you can lock and unlock it anytime and view your transaction history all in one place. Plus, it’s easy to manage settings instantly through the app, no phone calls or queues required.
There’s also no arguing with the security benefits. Because there’s no physical card to lose or steal, and because you can disable it with a few taps, the digital Maya Card is one of the safest ways to pay online. It’s protected by the same systems that govern Maya’s operations as a BSP-regulated digital bank, which gives you added confidence with every transaction.
The Physical Maya Card: Tap, Swipe, or Withdraw Anytime
While going fully digital works for many, there are still moments when you need a physical card. Sometimes you’ll have to withdraw cash from an ATM, for instance, or hand over a card at a brick-and-mortar store or restaurant. The physical Maya Card covers those needs and more. You’ll get a versatile tool you can use just about anywhere Visa or Mastercard is accepted.
Getting your physical Maya Card is simple: you can order one directly through the app or purchase it at partner outlets. Once activated and linked to your Maya Wallet, it works just like any other standard debit card. You can use it for contactless tap payments, dip transactions, and even online purchases.
Maya also occasionally runs promos that make the card even more accessible, such as waiving the card fee when you hit a certain spend threshold. Regardless of how you get it, the physical Maya Card can help make your everyday finances that much more flexible and convenient, supported by Maya’s secure and fully digital infrastructure.
Why Not Enjoy the Best of Both Worlds?
You don’t actually have to choose between the digital or physical Maya Card—you can use both, and many people do. Each one shines in different situations, and together they make your spending as flexible as you need it to be, whether you're online, offline, or somewhere in between.
For example, your digital Maya Card is great for:
- Immediate use
- Online shopping and subscriptions
- In-app purchases or digital wallet top-ups
- Extra security through easy lock/unlock controls in the Maya app
Meanwhile, your physical Maya Card comes in handy when you:
- Pay in-store using tap or chip transactions
- Withdraw cash from local or international (with low forex fees of just 1.75%) ATMs
- Travel and need a backup card that doesn’t rely on your phone
- Prefer a tangible card for handing over at restaurants, hotels, or shops
What’s especially convenient is that both cards are tied to the same Maya Wallet balance, so you never have to move funds back and forth. Your spending activity remains consolidated in one place, easily managed through the app.
Do you also have a Maya Savings account? Using your digital or physical Maya Card, along with other Maya services regularly, can help you enjoy a boosted interest rate of up to 15% p.a. for your savings account. This means that you can gradually also grow your money even as you spend.
Using your digital and physical Maya Card for different applications lets you enjoy the best of both worlds—all under the umbrella of a BSP-supervised financial institution.
The way you spend should work around your lifestyle, not the other way around. With the Maya Card available in both digital and physical formats, you don’t have to compromise on convenience, control, or security. You might choose one or use both; either way, you’re backed by the #1 digital bank in the Philippines, giving you all the tools to shop, save, and spend smarter every day.
