Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) lowered the fee for InstaPay interbank fund transfer from P25 to P10 effective 7 March until 31 May this year.

“By lowering the fee, BPI aims to make fund transfers even more accessible and cost-effective, encouraging more customers to embrace the ease and convenience of digital banking,” BPI said in a statement on Friday.

This announcement came amid the requests from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials to bank executives to reduce or even remove fees for small-amount fund transfers.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the Central Bank and private bank leaders have also been studying to impose a fixed subscription fee for digital fund transfers in place of various service rates for  transactions with high amounts.

Digital transfers grow 14%

Data from the BSP shows digital fund transfers from person-to-person have increased to over 14 percent of all digital transactions in the country since 2013.

BPI Head of Consumer Banking Ginbee Go said the bank’s mobile app users already increased to 70 percent of all clients in 2023.

To help accelerate digital banking among Filipinos, BPI allows clients to transfer funds to accounts registered with other big banks and e-wallets.

The lower fee for fund transfers is applicable to users of BPI Online and BPI Mobile App.