To encourage digital payments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is looking to remove transaction fees for person-to-person electronic fund transfers (EFT) and payments to small businesses.
Currently, InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees range from Php 7 to Php 600 per transaction.
According to a proposed circular, the central bank wants to amend the Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems (MORPS) to eliminate fees on electronic fund transfers for personal transactions, up to a specified threshold, and on payments for micro-merchants.
Micro-merchants, those with monthly aggregate gross receipts not exceeding Php 250,000, will also benefit from this change.
BSP wants to promote the use of digital payments and make them more accessible by reducing costs for both consumers and businesses.
Personal transactions, as defined in the draft circular, include fund transfers for personal, family, or household purposes. The central bank has proposed a threshold of 10 person-to-person transfers per week to determine if an account is being used for personal purposes.
If the circular is approved, payment service providers (PSPs) will have until April 1, 2025, to comply with the new measure. Additionally, the BSP plans to lift the moratorium on fee increases for InstaPay and PESONet transactions.
