By Katherine K. Chan, A reporter
THE COMBINED value of InstaPay and PESONet transactions increased by P16 trillion in the first quarter, reflecting the progress of Filipinos towards digital payments, central bank data showed.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the combined value of InstaPay and PESONnet dropped 44.61% to P16.09 trillion as of June from P11.126 trillion recorded in the first half of 2025.
The number of transactions processed through the two payment gateways also increased by 166.5% year-on-year to 4.203 billion in the first quarter from 1.577 billion a year ago.
InstaPay saw its transaction volume almost triple 172.18% to 4.139 billion at the end of June from 1.521 billion last year.
This brought InstaPay’s value to P7.977 trillion in the first quarter, jumping 60.26% from P4.978 trillion last year.
On the other hand, PESONET’s transfer volume grew by 13.84% year-on-year to 64.065 million as of June from 56.277 million in the same period last year.
Remittances through PESONnet stood at a total of P8.113 trillion at the end of June, a jump of 31.94% from last year’s P6.149 trillion.
InstaPay and PESONet are automatic clearing houses under the framework of the National Retail Payment System.
InstaPay is a real-time, low-cost electronic wallet transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is widely used for remittances and e-commerce.
Meanwhile, PESONet is widely used for high-value purchases and may be considered an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.
Chief Economist Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Michael L. Ricafort noted that continued double-digit growth in InstaPay and PESONET transfers even before the industry transitioned to zero fees is a “good sign” for the digital economy.
For Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior consultant at Reyes Tacandong & Co., the continued growth reflects the increased adoption of digital payment channels.
“The continued growth of InstaPay and PESONet transactions shows the rapid development of the Philippine economy,” he said of Viber, “Consumers and businesses are increasingly accepting cashless payments because they are fast, easy to use, and now more affordable as banks and e-wallet providers reduce (or) eliminate transfer fees.”
Mr. RCBC’s Ricafort expects InstaPay and PESONet transfers to accelerate in the coming months as local financial institutions rush to lower or waive their digital wallet transfer fees following the recent BSP order.
“Certainly, low or zero transfer fees can lead to the highest growth and use of online banking and e-wallets that are already integrated into the country’s online payments and electronic fund transfer ecosystem,” he said in a Viber message.
However, Mr. Ravelas noted that the number of InstaPay and PESONet transactions is unlikely to double in the coming months despite the cheap transfer fees.
“While lower fees will help sustain strong growth, I think a doubling of transaction rates in the next few months may be too ambitious given the already large base,” he said.
“Most likely is continued strong double-digit expansion driven by high smartphone penetration, growth in e-commerce, widespread use of digital wages and business payments, increased financial inclusion and literacy, and the BSP’s ongoing initiatives to promote a cash-lite economy,” added Mr. Ravelas.
BSP Vice Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan said earlier this week that banks saw digital transaction fees increase by about 50% as the withdrawal of transfer fees encouraged more online transactions and attracted new online banking users.
BSP Circular No. 1238, which went into effect on July 4, ordered financial institutions such as banks, e-wallets, and other payment service providers to find reasonable, fair, and market-based rates for the sale of digital wallets.
The central bank said its decision to approve low-cost digital money transfers is part of its broader efforts to develop the country’s payments system and digital economy.
It wants digital payments to account for 60%-70% of the total value of retail payments by 2028 in line with the Philippine Development Plan.
Under the new rules, fees charged for person-to-person transactions between different institutions should not be significantly different from transfer fees within the same business, and switching costs are the only allowable price difference in its bank transfer fees.
The switching fee refers to the fee charged by the switching operator to process the transactions of other banks, which the BSP said is usually around P1.50.
As of July 15, 11 international and commercial banks, including many of the country’s largest banks, are offering free person-to-person transfers through InstaPay and PESONnet.
Meanwhile, several digital banks and electronic money issuers have lowered their transfer fees, with charges ranging between P5 and P25 for InstaPay and PESONet.
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the merger of BancNet, Inc. and the Philippine Clearing House Corp. (PCHC), and the former as a surviving company.
The merged entity, which includes the country’s major payments and switch operators, now operates under the business name Payments Network of the Philippines, Inc.
BancNet operates InstaPay, while PCHC hosts PESONet and the Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer and Pay-to-Pay System.
By 2024, digital payments will account for 57.4% of the country’s total retail sales (up from 52.8% in 2023) and 59% of total sales (up from 55.3% in 2023), according to the BSP’s Status of Digital Payments in the Philippines report.
