BSP extends moratorium on PESONet, InstaPay fee increases

Financial institutions have been ordered to maintain interbank transfer fees of both InstaPay and PESONet at their current level, as the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) extended the moratorium on any increases.

According to Memorandum 2023-037 released by the central bank, institutions that currently charge transfer fees should maintain them at the current levels, while those that waived such fees can only restore them at the amount reported to the BSP prior to the waiver.

BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) that have yet to offer fund transfer services on both InstaPay and PESONet have been ordered to report to the BSP the initial fees they plan to charge at least 60 days ahead of the planned implementation.

The BSP did not indicate a timeline as to how long the moratorium will last, but said that the extension is in its bid to boost the adoption of digital payments in the country.

“To promote the inclusive adoption of digital payments, the BSP will work with the payments industry to lower, if not eliminate, fees imposed on small electronic payments (e-payments),” the memorandum read.

“Accordingly, the moratorium on fee increases for InstaPay and PESONet transactions shall be lifted, subject to BSP review, once zero fees are operationalized by the payments for small e-payments,” it added.

Non-compliant institutions will be subjected to the BSP’s supervisory and enforcement actions under the National Payment Systems Act and the New Central Bank Act.

“The reduction or removal of transfer fees for small e-payments supports our vision of digitalization and inclusivity. We are engaging the industry through dialogue to explore ways to reduce or completely eliminate fees for small-value transactions,” Governor Eli Remolona said in a separate statement.

To recall, the BSP in December 2021 announced a moratorium covering fee increases in both InstaPay and PESONet, as it said maintaining such fees is expected to boost the country’s post-pandemic recovery.

LIST: Banks with waived transfer fees until December 31, 2023

Launched in April 2018, InstaPay is a real-time, low-value digital payments facility that substitutes for cash transactions.

Meanwhile, PESONet —  launched in 2017 — is a batch electronic funds transfer that provides an alternative for checks and recurring payments.—AOL, GMA Integrated News