Solon wants online bank transfer fees waived until end of COVID-19 pandemic

Quezon City Representative Precious Castelo is urging the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to waive online bank transfer fees indefinitely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In House Resolution 1271, Castelo said transfer fees for online banking must be waived "not only until the end of the year but while the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic."

“During this health and economic crisis, the waiver of fees on online banking transactions and other electronic payment services will ease the burden of Filipinos,” she said.

Castelo said many people nowadays do online money transfers as this lessens the risk of contracting the coronavirus through face-to-face and over-the-counter transactions.

The BSP, she added, should be able to compel all banks and financial intermediaries under its jurisdiction to comply with its directive to suspend transfer fees.

“There should be universal compliance. We cannot have two or three platforms defying the regulator, while all the others are complying,” she said.

Castelo also argued that banks and financial intermediaries can afford to waive transfer fees as "this is not where they make money."

“These are just small fees - P10-P15 per transaction. That’s gravy to companies making billions in annual profits,” she said.

Considering that many of those who transfer money are bank depositors, she said their banks "can very well provide such service to them for free."

Mobile wallet giants PayMaya and GCash earlier said they are waiving their transfer fees until October 31.

The following banks also said they are waiving bank transaction fees until October 31:

• Asia United Bank Corporation
• Bank of Commerce
• Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank
• China Bank Savings, Inc.
• China Banking Corporation
• CIMB Bank Philippines Ink.?Citibank (Free for individual clients)
• CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corporation
• DCPay (for retail clients)
• Development Bank of the Philippines
• East West Banking Corporation
• Equicom Savings Bank, Inc.
• Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (for retail, corporate clients)
• HSBC Savings Bank (for retail, corporate clients)
• ING Bank, N.V.
• Land Bank of the Philippines
• Maybank Philippines Inc. (for retail clients)
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company
• Philippine Bank of Communications
• Philippine Business Bank
• Philippine National Bank
• Philippine Savings Bank
• Philippine Veterans Bank
• Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
• Robinsons Bank Corporation
• Rural Bank of Guinobatan
• Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc.
• Union Bank of the Philippines
• United Coconut Planters Bank

—Erwin Colcol/KBK, GMA News