BSP clears way for digital transaction fee hikes; Go wants charges lowered to P2-P5

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has lifted its moratorium on increases in fees for transactions made through InstaPay and PESONet, while ordering banks to adopt cost-based pricing for electronic fund transfers under a new framework aimed at making digital payments more affordable.

In Memorandum No. M-2026-05, the central bank said the Monetary Board had approved the removal of the fee-hike freeze alongside the implementation of Circular No. 1238, which introduces amendments to the National Retail Payment System Framework and the Regulatory Framework for Merchant Payment Acceptance Activities.

“The lifting of the moratorium is grounded in the implementation of zero fees for small merchant payments, and the establishment of a pricing structure for person-to-person electronic fund transfers under the Circular, which aims to reduce fees for this segment and provide parameters for responsible pricing and market conduct,” the memorandum read.

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Circular No. 1238 provides that service fees for electronic payments should be reasonable, transparent and proportionate to the actual cost of providing the service.

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“The pricing mechanism should be designed to uphold fairness across end-user groups,” the circular read.

The development comes as Finance Secretary Frederick Go seeks to slash interbank transaction fees to as low as P2, with discussions already underway with the BSP and key players in the financial industry.

Speaking to reporters, Go said reducing the cost of digital payments has become one of his priorities, citing the high fees Filipinos pay for fund transfers, government transactions and remittances.

“Digital payment should be fast, secure, convenient and affordable. We’ve been talking to them (the BSP) about this. We want to level the playing field,” Go said.

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“I believe the BSP has the same sentiment on how to bring down transaction costs,” he added.

His goal is to bring transfer fees down from the current P10 to P50 range to around P2 to P5 per transaction.

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Still, Go acknowledged that extensive consultations with stakeholders are needed before any industry-wide changes can be implemented. He also challenged members of Fintech Alliance PH to develop solutions that would reduce remittance costs.

“You just need one of the big players to drop. Then people have to compete. Then we drop the convenience fees. That will add pressure on agencies that continue to collect high convenience fees,” he said.

While the finance chief has no direct authority to regulate fees imposed by banks and digital payment providers—a function that falls under the BSP—Go said his office has already directed the Land Bank of the Philippines, which he chairs, to start lowering charges.

Effective May 21, LandBank reduced its InstaPay fee for person-to-person transactions to P8 from P15.

The state-run lender has also launched a pilot program that waives convenience fees for eligible person-to-government transactions made through QRPh-enabled channels.

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The pilot program will run until the end of the year, with Go saying the goal is to make the initiative permanent as long as “it makes financial sense for LandBank.” INQ