The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has summoned several banks and e-wallet operators this week to explain why their InstaPay and PESONet fees still don’t match what a new fairness rule requires, and the regulator says penalties could follow if the explanations don’t hold up.
BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan told reporters the central bank invited institutions that either haven’t adjusted their fees at all or whose new rates still fall short of the circular’s requirements. Among them are GCash and Maya, which both lowered their InstaPay fee to ₱10 from ₱15 but haven’t matched that with a comparable cut to their own on-us transfer costs.
BSP Circular No. 1238, issued June 17 and in effect since July 4, requires banks, e-wallets, and other payment providers to price interbank transfers close to what they charge for transfers within their own institution, with the only real gap being the network switching fee. Tangonan gave a concrete example: if an e-wallet keeps its off-us InstaPay fee at ₱10, its on-us transfer should run around ₱8.50, since both use the same infrastructure.
“We invited them to come over to have a discussion. I just want to understand why,” Tangonan said, adding that the meetings are meant to hear out the affected firms before anything else. “Those that haven’t adjusted their fees appear to be noncompliant with the circular. I said ‘appear’ because we need to hear the explanation.”
On the possibility of sanctions, Tangonan said enforcement isn’t the first move. “Hindi maganda kung palo agad eh. Kapag naliwanagan na, ayaw pa rin sumunod, ayun…” he said, which translates to: an immediate sanction isn’t the right approach, and penalties should only come once a firm understands the rule and still refuses to comply.
Several major banks have already fallen in line. BPI, Landbank, and UnionBank have permanently waived both InstaPay and PESONet fees for retail transfers. RCBC now offers 30 free InstaPay transfers a month for transactions of at least ₱100 through its Pulz app, plus unlimited free InstaPay transfers via RCBC Diskartech up to a daily cap of ₱499,999, though it kept its PESONet fee at ₱10.
A handful of smaller players, including GoTyme Bank, UnionDigital Bank, EastWest Bank, CIMB Philippines, and Maya Bank, were already offering free or largely free retail transfers before the circular took effect.
For now, no bank or e-wallet has been penalized. Tangonan’s meetings with the remaining holdouts are expected to continue through the week, and the BSP has indicated it will decide on next steps once it hears their explanations.
