SpentiTurn GCash and bank alerts into expenses on iPhone, with one Shortcuts automation
An iPhone can turn your GCash, Maya and bank alerts into expenses in Spenti by itself, with one Shortcuts automation. The text is read on the phone and never sent anywhere. It works with app notifications from GCash, Maya and BPI and with bank SMS: no screenshot, no typing, and about two minutes to set up. This guide shows every tap.
- What you need: an iPhone on iOS 27 or later for GCash and bank app notifications, or iOS 17 or later for bank SMS; Spenti installed; a wallet or bank whose alerts carry the amount.
- What you build: one automation in the Shortcuts app with a trigger (the app's notification or the bank's SMS) and one action, Spenti's Add expense from message.
- What happens: each alert is read on the phone, saved as an expense, and never sent anywhere. Each saved message counts as one scan; ignored ones, like OTPs, are free.
How it works
An iPhone app cannot read other apps' notifications. Shortcuts can. You build an automation that starts when GCash or your bank app sends a notification (iOS 27 or later) or when your bank sends an SMS (iOS 17 or later), and it hands the text to Spenti's action, Add expense from message. Spenti reads the amount, the shop and the time on the phone with its own rules, saves the expense, and tells you with a short notification of its own.
The automation runs even when Spenti is closed. Refunds lower your spending, money in is saved but never counts as spending, and OTPs, balance notices and promotions are ignored. There is no GCash or bank login and no account: Spenti only ever sees the text of the alert, and it never asks you to tap a link.
Which banks and e-wallets work in the Philippines?
Any wallet or bank whose alert carries the amount. For the Philippines, Spenti uses general rules checked against real alerts, in English with some Filipino wording (nagbayad, natanggap, kay). This is what has been checked so far.
| Wallet / bank | What Spenti reads today |
|---|---|
| GCash | Pay, Send Money, bank transfer and money-received wording, for example "You have paid P215.00 of GCash to …". Since 2022 GCash sends these to its app inbox instead of SMS, so use the app-notification route on iOS 27. Cash-ins at a kiosk are not saved: they only top up your own wallet. |
| Maya | App notifications such as "You received 500.00 in your wallet via InstaPay". An amount with no currency takes your home currency. |
| BPI, BDO, EastWest, CIMB Philippines | Card and ATM alerts such as "Thank you for using your BPI card … amounting to PHP …"; OTP texts are ignored. |
| GoTyme, MariBank | App notifications for transfers received and sent. |
| SeaMoney (SPayLater), Coins.ph, Home Credit | Payment confirmations; Coins.ph confirmation codes are ignored. |
| UnionBank, Metrobank, Security Bank, RCBC, LANDBANK | No real alert checked yet. They may well work; if not, send one in (see below). |
Banks and wallets in the Philippines have removed links from their texts to fight scams, and in 2026 they moved high-risk approvals away from SMS one-time PINs. Neither affects this guide: transaction alerts still carry the amount, and the OTPs that remain are ignored. Never point the automation at a chat app such as Messenger or Viber: every chat message would be handed to Spenti.
This guide is also written for other markets' banks: Global (English), Malaysia (Bahasa Melayu), Malaysia (English), Singapore (简体中文), Myanmar (မြန်မာဘာသာ), Spain (Español), France (Français), Germany (Deutsch).
Set it up for GCash and bank app notifications (iOS 27)
Use this for GCash, Maya, GoTyme or a bank app that sends a notification for each payment. On iOS 27 an automation lives inside the shortcut itself, as a trigger block at the top. The screenshots below are from an iPhone in English.
- Open Shortcuts, start a new shortcut and add the trigger When I receive a notification. Choose GCash or your bank's app; tap + to add more than one.
- Below it, add Spenti's action. Search for Add expense and pick Add expense from message.
- Tap the Message field. If it says Shortcut Input, delete it.
- Above the keyboard, swipe the variable bar until you see Notification, and tap it.
- Tap the Notification token you just added, and under Get choose Body. That is the text of the alert, with the amount in it.
- Tap the arrow on Spenti's action to show From. Fill it the same way, but choose Title. Maya and GoTyme put the kind of transaction in the title, such as "Transfer received", and Spenti uses it. Keep just the one Title token there.
- Tap the arrow on the trigger block and make sure Automation is switched on. Notify can stay off.
- Tap Done. The next alert saves by itself.
The one mistake to avoid: in a shortcut started by a trigger, Shortcut Input is empty. If the Spenti action reads Shortcut Input, Spenti reports an empty message. Always feed it the trigger's own variable, Notification › Body here, as in steps 4 and 5.
Set it up for bank SMS
On iOS 27
The same as above with a different trigger. Add When I receive a message, tap Add Filter and set Sender is to your bank's sender name exactly as Messages shows it. Add Add expense from message, clear the Message field, tap Message in the variable bar, tap the token and under Get choose Content. Then switch the trigger's Automation on and tap Done.
On iOS 17 to 26
- In Shortcuts, open the Automation tab, tap + and choose Message.
- Set Sender to your bank, choose Run Immediately, and tap Next.
- Choose New Blank Automation and add Add expense from message.
- Set Message to Shortcut Input › Content, and tap Done.
App notifications are not available as a trigger before iOS 27, so on these versions only SMS works, and GCash payments that no longer arrive by SMS cannot be caught this way. Some banks send from more than one sender name; add each one.
Check that it works
Make a small payment, or wait for the next one. Spenti posts a short notification saying what it saved, if you allow Spenti's notifications, and the expense pins to the corkboard in your room. In Spenti's settings, the Bank messages page shows whether messages are arriving and what happened to the last few.
Nothing arrived? Check these, in order:
- Spenti says the message was empty. The action is reading Shortcut Input. Redo steps 3 to 5.
- Nothing happens at all. Make sure the trigger's Automation switch is on, and that GCash or the bank app is allowed to send notifications in iPhone Settings and in the app's own settings.
- Spenti says "Not an expense, ignored" for a real payment. Some apps send a bare "You have a new transaction" without the amount. Look in the app's settings for a full-detail alert, or use the bank's SMS instead.
- Your bank's alert is not read right yet. On the Bank messages page, tap the message and use Copy details for support to send it in. Real alerts are how new rules get added.
Pay with Apple Pay too? A second automation, built from Spenti's Add Wallet payment action, files each tap in Wallet the same way. Spenti's Bank messages page has a step-by-step picture guide for every version above. Spenti is live on iPhone; Android is next, and there it will read GCash and bank app notifications itself, with no Shortcuts step.
Budgeting for the holidays? Read how to budget your 13th month pay, compare apps in Philippines expense apps compared, or start from Spenti for the Philippines.
Frequently asked questions
Can I track GCash expenses automatically on iPhone?
Yes, on iOS 27 or later. GCash stopped sending most transaction confirmations by SMS in 2022 and moved them to its app inbox, so the way in is the GCash app notification: a Shortcuts automation that starts on it hands the text to Spenti’s action, Add expense from message, and Spenti saves the expense on the phone. On iOS 17 to 26 there is no notification trigger, so GCash payments can only be caught where a bank still texts you.
Which iPhones and iOS versions can do this?
Bank SMS works on iOS 17 or later. Bank and wallet app notifications need iOS 27 or later, the first iOS whose Shortcuts can start when a notification arrives.
Which Philippine banks and e-wallets work?
Any whose alert carries the amount. Spenti’s rules are checked against real alerts from GCash, Maya, BPI, BDO, GoTyme, MariBank, EastWest, CIMB Philippines, SeaMoney and Coins.ph, in English with some Filipino wording. UnionBank, Metrobank, Security Bank and RCBC have no real alert checked yet; they may work, and you can send one in if not.
Are OTP texts saved as expenses?
No. One-time PINs, “use this code” confirmations, balance notices, scam warnings and promotions are ignored, even when they mention an amount, and ignored messages do not count as scans.
Does it work with InstaPay and PESONet transfers?
Yes. A transfer alert that names the amount is saved as a transfer. Money you receive, for example “You received P1,250.00 from …”, is saved as money in and never counts as spending.
Does my message leave my phone?
No. Shortcuts hands the text to Spenti on the same phone, and Spenti reads it there with its own rules. It is never sent anywhere, not even when Your own AI is turned on for receipts and chat.
Does it cost anything?
The feature is on every plan. Each message Spenti saves counts as one scan from your monthly allowance, like a scanned receipt: 30 a month on Free, 100 on Basic, unlimited on Pro. Duplicates and ignored messages, such as OTPs, are free. When a month is used up, new payments wait and are saved next month or as soon as you upgrade.
How do I stop it, and does it work on Android?
To stop, open the shortcut in Shortcuts, tap the arrow on the trigger block and switch Automation off, or delete the shortcut. Spenti is on iPhone today; Android is next, and there Spenti will read GCash and bank app notifications itself once you grant notification access, with no Shortcuts step.