GCash and Maya Philippines Inc. were among six Philippine financial institutions that cut, but did not eliminate, fees for online fund transfers as banks and payment providers adjust their charges under new central bank rules.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) published a list of supervised financial institutions that have waived or reduced fees for transfers through InstaPay and PESONet.
GCash, operated by G-Xchange Inc., and Maya Philippines lowered their InstaPay fees to P10 from P15 per transaction earlier this month.
Lucio Co-led Philippine Bank of Communications also cut its InstaPay fee to P10 from P15, while GPay Network PH Inc., which operates GrabPay, charges P10 per InstaPay transaction.
Rural Bank of Guinobatan Inc. charges P10 for both InstaPay and PESONet transfers, while CARD MRI Rizal Bank Inc., a microfinance-oriented rural bank, charges P9 for transactions through either system.
By comparison, 23 institutions have waived fees for both InstaPay and PESONet transfers.
They are AllBank (A Thrift Bank), Asia United Bank, Bank of Commerce, Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank, China Banking Corp., China Bank Savings, CTBC Bank (Philippines), East West Banking Corp., East West Rural Bank, Equicom Savings Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, MariBank Philippines, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Netbank (A Rural Bank), Own Bank (The Rural Bank of Cavite City), Philippine National Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Philippine Trust Co., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Security Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines and UnionDigital Bank.
Five institutions — Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., BPI Direct BanKo, CIMB Bank Philippines, GoTyme Bank and JPMorgan Chase Bank — offer zero interbank transfer fees subject to certain conditions.
CIS Bayad Center and ShopeePay Philippines have waived fees only for InstaPay transactions.
Another 14 institutions have waived PESONet fees: Bangko Mabuhay, City Savings Bank, DCPAY Philippines, Laguna Prestige Banking, Maya Bank, Money Mall Rural Bank, Philippine Veterans Bank, Rural Bank of Angeles, Rural Bank of La Paz, Rural Bank of Montalban, Rural Bank of Porac (Pampanga), HSBC, Top Bank Philippines and USSC Money Services.
The fee changes come as the BSP implements Circular No. 1238, which promotes fair, cost-based and transparent pricing for person-to-person electronic fund transfers.
“Under the leadership of the BSP and in collaboration with BSP-supervised financial institutions, we continue to promote affordable, safe, and accessible digital payments for all,” the central bank said.
The BSP said the list would be updated regularly based on disclosures submitted by supervised financial institutions.
