LandBank cuts online fund transfer fees

MANILA  -Land Bank of the Philippines reduced online fund transfer fees from P25 per transaction to a fixed-rate of P15 regardless of the amount, in line with government efforts to accommodate lower-income Filipinos into the domestic banking system.

The state-run bank said the reduced fees took effect on June 15.

“By lowering the fund transfer fee, more customers will benefit from the convenience and efficiency of our products,” Landbank president and chief executive Lynette Ortiz said in a statement.

“This is part of our commitment to provide accessible and affordable digital banking solutions, and to help expand financial inclusion,” Ortiz added.

Landbank facilitates digital fund transfers through its mobile banking app and iAccess platform for retail clients, as well as the weAccess platform for corporate accounts.

In the first three months of 2023, these digital platforms facilitated transactions amounting to a total of P265.7 billion.

Last February, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said the regulator was looking into the possible removal of fees on “small-value” fund transfers done on digital channels as part of efforts to encourage more Filipinos to use digital payments.

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As an example, Medalla said that a P15 fee for transferring P200 was quite large relative to the amount being sent.

Two systems that are now being used for electronic fund transfers — usually between different service providers or entities — are called InstaPay and PESONet. InstaPay is a real-time, low value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is most useful for remittances and e-commerce.

For transferring higher values, PESONet is used and may be considered as an electronic alternative to the paper-based check system.

BSP data show that, as of the end of 2022, the most commonly charged fee for a fund transfer done by individuals — as opposed to organizations — through InstaPay is P15. However, the fees vary from zero (free) to P25 per transaction.

Since InstayPay was launched in April 2018 when there were 1,740 transactions that involved about P20 million, the monthly flows have risen up to P383 billion done through more than 56 million transactions in December 2022.

According to the BSP, the rise in InstaPay transactions is mainly attributed to the wide use of internet banking and e-money transactions for domestic remittances, e-commerce, bills payment, and other immediate low-value payments.