More banks offer free interbank fund transfers

MORE FINANCIAL institutions have waived their fund transfer fees in line with the central bank’s push to lower digital transaction costs.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) and its thrift bank arm Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) have made online interbank fund transfers via InstaPay and PESONet free starting on Thursday (July 9).

Metrobank said InstaPay transfers via the Metrobank app are limited to an aggregate amount of P100,000 daily (up to P50,000 per transaction), while users are allowed to send P200,000 per day via PESONet.

In February, the bank had lowered its InstaPay fee to P8 from P25, while PESONet transfers were charged P50.

Meanwhile, PSBank said interbank transfers via PSBank Mobile and Online are now free.

Based on its website, PESONet transactions are limited to a total of P200,000 daily, while InstaPay transfers are capped at P50,000.

The bank previously imposed a P10 fee for InstaPay and P50 for PESONet transfers.

Users of BDO Unibank, Inc.’s  mobile banking app also reported on Thursday afternoon that InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees have already been waived on the platform, although the bank had not made an official advisory as of press time. It previously charged P10 for InstaPay transfers and P50 for PESONet transfers.

SECURITY BANK
Security Bank Corp. is also making fund transfers free for all its customers starting on Friday (July 10), it said on Thursday. This benefit was previously exclusive to its Gold, Wealth, Corporate, and Business Banking clients.

Regular individual clients were previously charged P10 for InstaPay transfers and P10 for PESONet transactions.

“As we celebrate 75 years of serving Filipinos, we’re continuing to make everyday banking easier for our clients,” Security Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Lee said. “By extending free fund transfers to all customers, we’re making a benefit many of our clients already enjoy available to everyone.”

Based on its website, the daily value cap for InstaPay transfers via the Security Bank app is at P350,000, while that for PESONet is at P500,000.

InstaPay and PESONet are automated clearing houses under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System framework. InstaPay is a real-time electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is mostly used for retail activities, while PESONet caters to high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks as transfers are processed and settled in batches.

The fee waiver is aligned with new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rules meant to lower retail digital transaction costs.

BSP Circular 1238 issued on June 17, which took effect on July 4, requires financial institutions like banks, e-wallets, and other payment service providers to adopt reasonable, fair, and market-based pricing for individual fund transfers.

Under the new rules, fees charged for person-to-person transactions between different institutions should not be materially different from charges for transfers within the same entity, with the only allowable difference in pricing being the switch cost, or the fee charged by a clearing switch operator to process these off-us transfers.

This is because providing on-us or intrabank fund transfer services, which most institutions already do for free, use the same infrastructure and systems and entail the same operational costs as interbank transactions, with the switching or network fee being the only gap.

The BSP said lower transfer fees will improve the country’s digital payments system as these facilitate interoperability, which would boost usage.

The central bank wants digital payments to make up 60%-70% of the total volume of retail payments by 2028 in line with the Philippine Development Plan. — Bettina V. Roc