Philippine banks drop InstaPay, PESONet transfer fees under new BSP framework

Manila, Philippines – Major banks across the Philippines have begun waiving InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) introduced a new framework for electronic fund transfer pricing.

The industry-wide move follows BSP Circular No. 1238, which took effect after the central bank lifted its five-year moratorium on digital transfer fees on 17 June. 

Under the new circular, banks and electronic money issuers are no longer prohibited from charging transfer fees. 

Instead, the BSP requires fees for person-to-person electronic fund transfers to be fair, transparent, and commensurate with the actual cost of providing the service, including switching and processing costs. 

Financial institutions must also clearly disclose any applicable charges to customers.

Rather than reintroducing fees, many banks have opted to maintain or expand free digital transfers.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) was among the first to implement free online transfers, with the changes taking effect on 1 July.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) updated its pricing on 4 July, waiving fees for the first 30 InstaPay transfers each month made via its Pulz app for transactions of at least P100.

On 7 July, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) removed transfer fees across its digital channels, while UnionBank also revised its transfer pricing.

Starting 9 July, Metrobank, PSBank, and China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) rolled out free InstaPay and PESONet transfers through their digital banking platforms. 

BDO Unibank has likewise eliminated transfer fees via its BDO Online and BDO Pay apps.

More banks are joining the shift, with Security Bank and Philippine National Bank (PNB) introducing zero-fee transfers on 10 July, followed by EastWest Bank on 15 July.

The changes also extend to digital financial services. 

MariBank Philippines has removed its monthly cap on free interbank transfers, while e-wallet providers GCash and Maya have lowered their interbank transfer fee to P10.

The fee reductions mark one of the country’s largest coordinated changes to digital payments in recent years, lowering transaction costs for consumers while supporting the BSP’s push to accelerate digital payment adoption.