Digital payment transactions via PESONet and InstaPay increased by nearly 45 percent to ₱1.85 trillion in March from ₱1.28 trillion in the same month last year.
This is equivalent to a ₱570 billion increase from March 2024, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.
Similarly, the March transactions coursed through the two automated clearing houses increased by ₱200 billion or more than 12 percent from February’s ₱1.65 trillion.
The combined volume of transactions through InstaPay and PESONet increased annually and monthly.
The recorded number of transactions was 205 million, up by nearly 98 million transactions or over 91 percent from last year’s 107.2 million transactions.
It likewise increased by 40 million transactions or more than 24 percent from over P165 million transactions in the previous month.
The value of PESONet transactions climbed by nearly 36 percent annually to ₱1.02 trillion in February from ₱735.4 billion a year earlier. It likewise increased by over seven percent from ₱933.1 billion posted a month earlier.
The volume of transactions that went through the payment gateway also rose by nearly 22 percent to 9.5 million from 7.8 million in the same period a year ago. It also rose by nearly six percent from the previous month.
Likewise, the value of transactions done through InstaPay jumped by nearly 53 percent to ₱825.7 billion from ₱540.1 billion in the previous year. This equates to a roughly ₱286-billion increase.
It also increased by ₱112.8 billion or nearly 16 percent increase from February’s ₱712.9-billion worth of transactions.
As for the number of InstaPay transactions, the March figure stood at 195.5 million, higher by nearly 97 percent from 99.4 million a year earlier.
It likewise posted an over 25-percent increase from 156.2 million in the previous month.
PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses introduced in December 2015 as part of the BSP’s National Retail Payment System framework.
PESONet handles high-value transactions and serves as an electronic alternative to paper checks.
InstaPay, meanwhile, is a real-time electronic fund transfer service for low-value transactions up to ₱50,000, commonly used for remittances and e-commerce.