BSP eyes zero-fee electronic fund transfers, payments to MSMEs

Last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) pushed to remove incurred fees from small bank-to-bank transactions.

Now, in a new draft circular, the BSP is seeking feedback from stakeholders on a plan to make person-to-person electronic fund transfers and micro-merchant payments entirely free of charge.

If approved, the new rules would take effect on April 1, 2025. Financial institutions under the BSP’s supervision are given until October 11th to submit their comments.

The BSP’s move comes as part of its broader efforts to encourage Filipinos to adopt digital payment methods and reduce reliance on cash.

The BSP has already seen significant progress in this area, with the share of digital payments in total retail transactions increasing to 52.8% in 2023 from 42.1% in 2022.

Current InstaPay fees for individual transactions range from as low as Php8USD 0.14INR 12EUR 0.13CNY 0.99 up to Php75USD 1INR 108EUR 1CNY 9, while PESONet transfers could cost between Php8USD 0.14INR 12EUR 0.13CNY 0.99 and Php600USD 10INR 867EUR 10CNY 74 for consumers.

Under the draft circular 13, the waived fees will apply to personal transactions that fall within the “threshold” set by the BSP.

While the central bank yet to specify the exact maximum amounts, it has indicated that personal fund transfers should not exceed 10 times a week.

In addition to personal transactions, the BSP also proposes to waive fees for small businesses with monthly aggregate gross receipts not exceeding Php250,000USD 4,260INR 361,150EUR 4,058CNY 31,025.

Larger businesses would still be required to pay fees, but the BSP would encourage them to adopt “reasonable and fair market-based pricing models.”