Landbank lowers online interbank fund transfer fee to P15

State-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) on Thursday implemented a P10 downward adjustment in its fund transfer rate through online and mobile banking platforms via InstaPay.

In an advisory, LandBank said all transfer transactions — regardless of the amount — are now charged P15 versus its previous rate of P25 through InstaPay.

“By lowering fund transfer rate, more customers will benefit from the convenience and efficiency of our products,” LandBank president and chief executive officer Lynette Ortiz said.

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

LandBank, which serves as an official depository of government funds, is mandated to promote countryside development while remaining financially viable. It implements the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP), and provides assistance to small farmers and fisherfolk.

The lender said transactions made through its mobile banking application and its iAccess and weAccess platforms recorded a total of P265.7 billion in the first quarter of the year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla in February said the central bank is ready to work with the banking industry to look at ways to remove fees on small-value fund transfers and incentivize more Filipinos to use digital payments.

Speaking to stakeholders of local banks, Medalla then said that a P15 fee — currently charged by a number of banks for interbank transfers — for a P200 transaction would be “quite large” relative to the amount being sent.

Among the measures Medalla said is the reduction of the reserve requirement or the amount of cash a bank must hold in its reserves against its deposits, which the BSP will adjust effective June 30, 2023. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News