BSP orders moratorium on InstaPay, PesoNet fee hikes

The central bank’s Monetary Board has issued a moratorium on increases in InstaPay and PESONet fees as banks that waived for person-to-person fund transfers are poised to resume charging these on Jan. 1.

But while increases have been disallowed, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said bank and e-money issuers (EMIs) that were using these two systems may waive or reduce their current fees.

Further, the BSP said banks and EMIs whose transfer fees were currently waived may charge these fees again at the level before the waiver.

There were 20 banks that have chosen to not charge the PESONet transfer fees until Dec. 31. Similarly, there are 10 banks that are not collecting InstaPay fees until the end of the year.

Robinsons Bank is charging P1 only for a fund transfer through InstaPay while GrabPay’s waiver lasts until March 31, 2022.

As of Nov. 30, BSP-supervised financial institutions that do collect these fees are charging up to P25 per transfer made through InstaPay.

For transfers made through PESONet, the fees being collected range from as low as P10 to as high as P2,100 depending on the transaction values.

Through InstaPay, users may transfer funds in real time but the amount may be subject to a daily limit of P50,000 per transaction as well as per account—depending on whether the transfer is done at the branch or through mobile and online platforms.

Funds transferred through PESONet may be available within the same day or the next banking day if done after the cut off time. The limit per transaction is much larger compared to InstaPay limits.

In short, InstaPay is for low-value transfers while PESONet supports bulk transfers. INQ