BDO Unibank, the country’s largest bank by assets, has removed transfer fees for InstaPay and PESONet transactions made through BDO Online and BDO Pay. The change means customers can now send money to accounts at other banks without paying a transfer charge on either platform.
If you regularly send money to friends, family, or other accounts outside BDO, this removes a cost that used to apply every time you used InstaPay or PESONet through the bank’s app. Previously, customers paid between ₱10 and ₱50 per transaction depending on the bank and channel used, so the change applies directly to routine transfers such as paying rent, sending allowance to relatives, or settling bills.
In an advisory on its website, BDO said: “Send Money via InstaPay and PESONet is now free on BDO Online and BDO Pay.” The bank did not specify an end date for the waiver.
BDO’s move follows Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 1238, signed by BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. on June 17, which lifted a nearly five-year moratorium on changes to InstaPay and PESONet fees and required banks to adopt market-based pricing for digital transfers. Under the circular, any fee difference between a transfer within the same bank and a transfer to another bank should mainly reflect the network “switch cost,” which the BSP estimates at roughly ₱1.50 per InstaPay transaction.
BDO joins a growing list of banks that have dropped or reduced these fees since the circular took effect. Bank of the Philippine Islands was the first major commercial bank to permanently waive both InstaPay and PESONet fees, effective July 1. LandBank followed on July 7, and Metrobank and PSBank both waived their fees on July 9. RCBC has also removed InstaPay fees through its Pulz app, though only for the first 30 transfers a month with a ₱100 minimum per transfer; PNB is set to drop its fees starting July 10.
BSP data show combined InstaPay and PESONet transaction values reached ₱13.1 trillion as of May 2026, up 44 percent year-on-year, with volumes hitting 3.5 billion transactions. The central bank has said it expects more banks to follow suit as it works toward a target of 60 to 70 percent of retail payments moving through digital channels by 2028.
BDO has not indicated whether the fee waiver applies to corporate or business accounts, or whether it covers transfers made through other BDO channels outside BDO Online and BDO Pay.
