BSP expects more banks to waive interbank transfer fees as new rules take effect July 4, 2026

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona Jr. expects more Philippine banks to waive interbank fund transfer fees over the weekend, as the BSP gave financial institutions until Saturday, July 4, to adjust transfer fees and comply with a circular that caps the difference between interbank and intrabank fees.

Under the BSP’s Circular 1238 that takes effect Saturday, July 4, any difference between intrabank and interbank transfer fees should reflect only the actual “switch cost” — the cost of processing a transaction through a payment network.

“In about two days… we expect more banks to follow,” Remolona said on the sidelines of the launch of the central bank’s book project “Risk and Resilience in the Philippine Financial System” in Manila.

So far, two banks have already announced the removal of interbank transfer fees — Ayala-led BPI, which permanently removed fees from transactions made through InstaPay and PESONet starting July 1, 2026; and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), which is set to make InstaPay transfers free starting Saturday, July 4, 2026.

“Maganda ‘yan kasi ‘yung payment system, ‘yung value niyan, ‘yung maraming marami kasali. Kung may telephone ka, isa lang ang natatawagan mo, hindi maganda ‘yan. Kailangan marami kang natatawagan. Ganun din ang payment system," he added.

"Ang tawag doon, network externalities. Kung maraming kasama, mas maganda. So the entry fee, mababa, kung pwede zero, mabuti,” Remolona said.

(That’s good because the value of a payment system comes from having as many participants as possible. If you have a telephone but can call only one person, that’s not very useful. You need to be able to call many people. It’s the same with a payment system. That’s what we call network externalities. The more participants there are, the better, so the cost of joining should be low. If it can be zero, better.)

The “switch cost” is estimated at P1.50, meaning banks that already have intrabank transfers free can only charge up to P1.50 for interbank transfers. –NB, GMA News

“The Circular 1238 takes effect tomorrow (Saturday, July 4), so we anticipate, we expect that the famous service providers, the banks, the EMIs (electronic money issuers) will comply,” BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told reporters in Manila.

The BSP issued Memorandum 2026-025 on June 17, which implements Circular 1238, which lifted the moratorium on changes to InstaPay and PESONet transaction fees.

It mandates that all digital transaction fees be based on actual processing costs, remain lower than over-the-counter banking fees, and ensure that recipients receive the full amount sent without deductions.

Should banks fail to comply, Tangonan said they will undergo the usual enforcement protocols, which include an initial fair warning.

RCBC has set a limit of 30 free transfers per month with a minimum of P100. It will charge P10 once the monthly limit is reached, or if transactions fall below the amount.

“We said that’s not compliant…. All we say is that whatever you charge, the price of your off-us (interbank) transaction must be the same as your on-us (intrabank). It cannot be more than your on-us price plus the switch fee,” Tangonan said. –NB, GMA News