The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has lifted its moratorium on InstaPay and PESONet fee increases, even as the Department of Finance (DOF) pushes banks to bring transaction costs down to as low as ₱2, far below the ₱50 charges that have drawn criticism from the government’s economic team.
The BSP announced the policy shift in Memorandum No. M-2026-025, issued June 17. The Monetary Board approved lifting the moratorium through a resolution dated June 4, with the change taking effect alongside Circular No. 1238, which amends the National Retail Payment System Framework and the Regulatory Framework for Merchant Payment Acceptance Activities.
The central bank tied the move to two new requirements under the circular: zero fees for small merchant payments, and a pricing structure for person-to-person electronic fund transfers meant to lower costs for that segment while setting rules for responsible pricing.
“The lifting of the moratorium is grounded in the implementation of zero fees for small merchant payments, and the establishment of a pricing structure for person-to-person electronic fund transfers under the Circular which aims to reduce fees for this segment and provide parameters for responsible pricing and market conduct,” the BSP said.
Under the new framework, BSP-supervised financial institutions must adopt market-based pricing that stays fair across user groups and tracks the actual cost of providing the service. Electronic payment fees are expected to remain lower than over-the-counter transaction fees, given the lower cost of digital channels. Institutions must still disclose their fees under existing 2018 rules, and the BSP can require additional justification for any pricing it considers unreasonable.
The regulatory change comes as Finance Secretary Frederick Go urges banks to lower digital transaction costs, calling the issue a personal priority. “There’s one thing I’m obsessing about – the very high digital transaction costs in the Philippines,” Go told reporters at a media roundtable, noting that fees here can hit ₱50 while neighboring countries charge only cents or nothing.
Go pointed to a recent International Monetary Fund report that flagged the Philippines’ domestic transfer fees as unusually high for the region, attributing the gap to the country’s fragmented financial infrastructure. He said his goal is to push fees down toward ₱2, the rough floor he sees for covering basic processing costs.
As chairman of the Land Bank of the Philippines, Go said he challenged the state-run bank’s executives over its ₱15 transaction fee, asking them to justify the bare cost of the service. That pressure led Landbank to cut its person-to-person transfer fee from ₱15 to ₱8. The bank is also piloting zero convenience fees for person-to-government payments to agencies including the Philippine National Police and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Go said he expects one major player cutting fees to push competitors to follow, including government agencies that still charge high convenience fees. He also called for full interoperability between banks so transfers across institutions don’t carry steep penalties, saying any remaining cost should be limited to minimal switching fees.
The DOF said it is gathering feedback from the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Fintech Alliance PH, describing the effort as aligned with BSP’s policy direction. Go separately raised concerns about remittance costs for overseas Filipino workers, which he said average around 10 percent, calling the rate “crazy” and pressing for it to come down without shorting workers’ earnings. Lawmakers have proposed the OFWs Remittance Protection Act, which seeks to cut OFW remittance fees in half.
