Digital payments surged past the ₱16-trillion mark in the first half of the year, driven by the dramatic spike in transaction volumes as domestic banks and e-wallet providers aggressively slashed or waived transfer fees.

According to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), total transactions processed through the central bank’s clearing houses, PESONet and InstaPay, climbed by 44.6 percent to ₱16.09 trillion in January to June from ₱11.13 trillion in the same period of 2025.

The expansion in value was accompanied by a steep rise in volume. Combined transaction numbers nearly tripled, skyrocketing 165.8 percent to 4.2 billion during the six-month period from 1.6 billion a year earlier.

Transactions coursed through PESONet alone jumped in value by ₱1.96 trillion, or 31.9 percent, to ₱8.11 trillion during the period from ₱6.15 trillion in 2025. Transaction volume also increased by 13.8 percent to 64.1 million from 56.3 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the value of transactions channeled through InstaPay jumped three-fifths to ₱7.98 trillion from ₱4.98 trillion in the previous year. This equated to a year-on-year increase of ₱3 trillion.

As for the volume of InstaPay transactions, transfers as of end-June 2026 nearly tripled to 4.14 billion from 1.52 billion in 2025.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses introduced in December 2015 as part of the BSP’s National Retail Payment System (NRPS) framework.

PESONet handles high-value transactions and serves as an electronic alternative to paper checks, while InstaPay is a real-time electronic fund transfer service for low-value transactions of up to ₱50,000, commonly used for remittances and e-commerce.

In June alone, fund transfers through PESONet and InstaPay stood at ₱2.91 trillion, jumping by 45.4 percent from the ₱2 trillion recorded in June last year. Combined transaction volume for the month nearly doubled to 720.3 million from 370.8 million.

Transactions via PESONet in June stood at ₱1.49 trillion, equivalent to a total of 11.5 million transfers. InstaPay transactions reached ₱1.42 trillion during the month, carried out in 708.8 million transactions—nearly double the number of transactions recorded a year earlier.

According to the BSP, the decision of domestic banks and e-wallets to waive or lower their interbank InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees has already boosted transaction volumes by up to 50 percent.

Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan, who heads the central bank’s Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS), said the fee elimination or reduction is a strategic move to reach the holy grail of financial inclusion by attracting those previously excluded from the formal economy.