BSP warns of sanctions vs banks, e-wallets that fail to lower transfer fees

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered financial institutions that have yet to comply with its fair-pricing rules for digital fund transfers to explain their noncompliance, warning that they may eventually face penalties.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said the central bank had invited “several” financial institutions to a meeting this week to discuss their compliance with the regulations.

The firms include those that have yet to reduce their fund transfer fees, as well as those whose charges have been reduced but remain above levels the BSP considers reasonable and fair.

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“Just so we’re on the same page,” Tangonan said of the meeting. “We’ll give them a chance to explain what steps they have taken and why.”

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For now, the BSP is opting for dialogue over enforcement. Asked whether sanctions were being considered, Tangonan said penalties would “come later.”

BSP circular

“It would not be appropriate to impose penalties at this moment,” he said. “If they remain noncompliant even after these meetings, then we may impose sanctions.”

Under BSP Circular No. 1238, banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions must ensure that fees for person-to-person digital fund transfers between accounts held at different institutions do not materially differ from those charged for transfers between accounts within the same institution.

Because transfers between accounts within the same bank or e-wallet are typically free, the central bank said any additional fee for interbank or interwallet transfers should largely reflect charges paid to the network switch operator.

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The BSP also said that while institutions may adopt differentiated pricing based on legitimate business and operational considerations, they must ensure that their fee structures do not result in one group of users unfairly subsidizing another.

Several financial institutions have already lowered their fees since the regulator announced the policy. The Bank of the Philippine Islands, UnionBank of the Philippines and state-run Land Bank of the Philippines have waived retail transfer fees, while Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. eliminated InstaPay charges for the first 30 transfers each month, subject to a minimum transaction amount of P100.

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E-wallet GCash and digital financial platform Maya have also reduced their InstaPay fee to P10 from P15.

“We need to hear the explanation,” Tangonan said. INQ

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