The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has summoned several banks and e-wallet operators this week for failing to lower or waive online fund transfer fees under new digital payment rules, a senior official said.
The regulatory crackdown follows the July 4 implementation of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular 1238, which mandates that electronic transaction fees must be reasonable, cost-based, and transparent, while small-value merchant payments via the national QR Ph standard must remain free.
BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told reporters that the regulator called in institutions found to be maintaining high transfer charges based on an initial central bank assessment.
“Just so we’re on the same page. We’ll give them a chance to explain where they are, why (their pricing mechanisms are) like that,” Tangonan said.
Only a handful of lenders—including Bank of the Philippine Islands, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, Union Bank of the Philippines, and state-run Land Bank of the Philippines—have waived online transfer fees entirely.
In contrast, Philippine Bank of Communications and dominant mobile wallet platforms GCash and Maya have opted to lower their per-transaction fees to P10 from P15.
