Several Philippine banks and electronic wallet operators have eliminated or adjusted their digital transaction costs in response to a central bank mandate requiring financial institutions to lower retail fund transfer charges.
The fee adjustments follow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issuance of Circular No. 1238 and Memorandum No. M-2026-025, which require market-based pricing mechanisms for person-to-person electronic fund transfers.
Central Bank Guidelines and Regulatory Compliance
Under the central bank framework, if an institution allows free transactions within its own platform, any fee applied to external transfers must reflect only the actual interbank network switch cost. The BSP estimates this switch cost at approximately ₱1.50 per transaction for the InstaPay network.
The BSP stated that financial institutions are not expected to place volume limits or caps on free transfers to bypass the cost-reflective policy.
InstaPay Fee Structures by Institution
Institutions with Unlimited Free InstaPay Transfers:
- BPI
- Vybe by BPI
- BanKo
- DiskarTech
- UnionDigital Bank
- OwnBank
- LandBank
- UnionBank
Institutions with Capped Free InstaPay Transfers:
- MariBank: 50 free transfers monthly
- RCBC: 30 free transfers monthly (Effective July 4; applies to transfers via RCBC Pulz application with a ₱100 minimum per transfer, after which a ₱10 fee applies)
- BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan noted that the central bank has communicated with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) regarding its 30-transaction monthly cap, stating the arrangement was non-compliant with the requirement that interbank fees remain equitable with internal transfers plus the basic switch cost.
- GoTyme Bank: 20 free transfers monthly
- Netbank: 10 free transfers daily
- CIMB Bank: 2 free transfers daily
Institutions Charging Standard Outbound InstaPay Fees:
| Institution | Transaction Fee | Effective Date / Notes |
| Chinabank | ₱5.00 | Standard Rate |
| PalawanPay | ₱5.00 | Standard Rate |
| Metrobank | ₱8.00 | Standard Rate |
| AUB | ₱8.00 | Standard Rate |
| EastWest | ₱10.00 | Standard Rate |
| Security Bank | ₱10.00 | Standard Rate |
| BDO | ₱10.00 | Standard Rate |
| GCash | ₱10.00 | Effective July 4 (Reduced from ₱15.00) |
| Maya | ₱10.00 | Effective July 6 (Reduced from ₱15.00) |
| PNB | ₱20.00 | Standard Rate |
PESONet Fee Structures by Institution
Select financial institutions have also modified or eliminated their transaction fees for the higher-value PESONet electronic fund transfer system in accordance with the central bank disclosures.
| Institution | PESONet Fee Structure | Effective Date / Notes |
| BPI | Free | Effective July 1 (Reduced from ₱50.00) |
| Landbank | Free | Effective July 7 (Via mobile app, iAccess, and OFBank accounts) |
| UnionBank | Free | Maintained zero-fee structure |
| Maya | Free | Outbound PESONet transactions carry no fee |
| CIMB Bank Philippines | Free | Pre-existing waived fee structure |
| EastWest | Free | Pre-existing waived fee structure |
| HSBC | Free | Pre-existing waived fee structure |
| GoTyme Bank | Free | Pre-existing waived fee structure |
| UnionDigital Bank | Free | Pre-existing waived fee structure |
| MariBank | 15 Free Transfers Weekly | Combined cap covering both PESONet and InstaPay |
According to the BSP, institutions that have reduced fees but remain above levels considered reasonable by the regulator are required to submit operational justifications regarding their pricing structures.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona stated that the regulator expects additional banking institutions to modify their digital transfer pricing schedules.
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This article is published on BitPinas: List: PH Banks With Free InstaPay and PESONet Transfers After BSP Fee Rules
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