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Manila Bulletin devider Technews devider Here's why banks and e-wallets waived or lowered transfer fees

Here's why banks and e-wallets waived or lowered transfer fees

Published Jul 10, 2026 10:43 pm
There has been much joy and celebration as banks and e-wallets have started waiving transfer fees for InstaPay or PESONet transfers (online money transfers). If the transfer fee was not waived, then a number of free transfers or a lower transfer fee was announced.
If, after your celebratory dance, you ever wondered why this change of fees is happening now, it has actually been a long time coming. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) lifted its five-year freeze on digital transfer fees.
Through Memorandum No. M-2026-025, which was issued last June 17, the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) lifted the moratorium on increases in InstaPay and PESONet transaction fees. It also issued new rules aimed at making electronic charges fairer, more transparent, and reflective of their actual costs.
The BSP indicated that digital transfer fees should be significantly lower than traditional face-to-face bank transfers. They reiterated that interbank transfer fees should reflect only the actual cost of processing the transactions, estimated at around P1.50 per transaction.
While many consumers have been ecstatic about the waived bank fees, they have noticed that e-wallets like GCash and Maya only lowered their transfer fees from P15.00 to P10.00.
Unlike traditional banks, which have additional revenue streams such as loans, credit cards, and deposits, e-wallets have a narrower product portfolio. Most likely, these two competitors will hold on to their current transfer fee. Because, think about it, why would one budge to a lower fee if the other won’t?
These banks and e-wallets are most likely reviewing their digital strategies.
BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands) was the first bank to announce it would waive its transfer fees entirely. BPI President and CEO TG Limcaoco said that eliminating the per-transaction charges was a meaningful step toward financial inclusion for millions of Filipinos. By making digital transfers completely free, BPI aims to simplify everyday payments. And by doing so, bring in more customers.
This is indeed a cause for celebration for the everyday Juan; instead of racking up fees when paying for bills and transferring money, they can keep every hard-earned peso for themselves. A small victory, yes, but a victory nonetheless. 

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digital bank transfer fees e-wallets
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