The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) will permanently eliminate all InstaPay and PESONet transaction fees starting July 1, 2026. The change makes the Ayala-led lender the first major Philippine bank to remove these fees unconditionally for all account types, rather than restricting the benefit to specific client tiers.
BPI President Jose Teodoro “TG” K. Limcaoco confirmed the fee elimination when contacted by Manila Bulletin, following an earlier report by InsiderPH. The waiver applies to the BPI mobile app, BPI Online, the VYBE e-wallet, and BizKo, the bank’s platform for small businesses, and is expected to affect more than 9 million enrolled digital customers.
Under BPI’s current fee schedule, InstaPay transfers to other banks or e-wallets cost ₱10 to ₱25 per transaction, while PESONet transfers carry a ₱50 fee. Both had previously been waived only for BPI Preferred, BPI Gold, and BPI Private Banking clients. Starting July 1, the waiver covers both real-time InstaPay transfers and PESONet batch transfers for all users.
The decision follows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) move to lift a five-year freeze on digital transfer fee adjustments. Under the previous policy, BSP-supervised banks and e-money issuers were barred from raising fund transfer costs and could only reduce or waive them. The new rules under BSP Circular No. 1238 give lenders flexibility to set fees based on actual costs, though the central bank has urged commercial institutions to adopt fair, market-based pricing rather than raise rates. Safeguards under the circular require that peer-to-peer transfers be received in full and that electronic transfer fees stay lower than over-the-counter transactions.
BPI said the decision to eliminate transfer costs entirely aligns with the BSP’s push for deeper digital adoption and stronger financial inclusion among Filipino consumers. Combined InstaPay and PESONet transfers reached ₱13.1 trillion in value and 3.5 billion in volume as of May 2026, up 44 percent year-on-year, according to BSP data.
To access the fee-free transfers, BPI customers must update their app to the latest version, released June 25, available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei AppGallery. BPI has not specified whether the waiver extends to PESONet transfers processed through BizLink, its existing corporate channel, or to over-the-counter transactions at branches.
