Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) permanently maintains its P10 InstaPay transfer fee for interbank transactions using BPI Mobile app and BPI Online.

BPI announced this in a statement on Monday, stressing that the initial implementation of the lower fee received overwhelming positive feedback from clients.

The bank reduced the transfer fee from P25 last March to encourage clients to use its digital platforms. BPI initially implemented it only from 7 March to 31 May.

"The response to our promotion reducing InstaPay fee to P10 last March was very positive, as we experienced increased transactions through our online and mobile banking channels," said BPI head of consumer banking Ginbee Go.

BPI added the reduced fee, along with its digital tools, helps the country achieve financial inclusion, particularly among lower income classes.

"Making the P10 InstaPay fee permanent is part of our broader commitment to deliver convenient, secure, and cost-efficient digital services that empower Filipinos to manage their finances more effectively," Go said.

As a financial inclusion measure, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said last January that the Central Bank, e-wallet, and other financial firms have been studying whether to establish either a lower fee or a subscription fee for person-to-person fund transfers in place of increasing service fees for certain amounts of fund transfers.

"I think that's the wrong model because of what we call network externalities. There should be a subscription fee which is fixed," he said.

"We haven't determined the threshold but if you do that, they will just divide the transaction, so they won't meet the threshold," Remolona continued.