State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) will waive all InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees for retail clients beginning today, Tuesday, 7 July, allowing customers to send funds for free through the LandBank Mobile Banking App and iAccess platform.

In a Monday statement, the bank said the fee waiver will also cover clients of Overseas Filipino Bank, extending the benefit to Filipinos abroad.

Zero-free P2G payments via QRPH

The move follows Landbank’s 1 June rollout of zero-fee person-to-government (P2G) payments via QRPh and expands the bank’s cost-free digital banking initiative to include retail fund transfers. The lender had earlier reduced its InstaPay fees from P15 to P8, becoming the first among local financial institutions to do so.

“With this, clients can now manage both personal financial transactions and government payments through a single account without incurring transfer fees,” the bank said.

Follow LandBank

On Monday, Malacañang urged other private banking institutions to follow Land Bank of the Philippines’ decision to reduce, and even forgo, transaction fees.

“LandBank started it all, so mas nanaiisin po natin na lahat po sana ng bangko ay gayahin na rin po ang pinasimulan ng Landbank para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan (We hope that all other banks follow what LandBank started to help our countrymen),” said Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro during a briefing.

Last week, Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands announced that it will permanently waive all InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees as part of its 175th anniversary.

The Yuchengco Group of Companies-run Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) also eliminated costs for InstaPay transactions and reduced PESONet transfer fees.

Meanwhile, the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Maya Bank, as well as the Lucio Co-backed Philippine Bank of Communications, likewise reduced their respective InstaPay transfer fees to P10 from P15.

“At dahil po dito, nag-start po ang LandBank at sumunod na rin po ang BPI at ang RCBC. So ito po ay sang-ayon na rin po sa kagustuhan ng Pangulo (And because of this, Landbank and BPI and RCBC followed; this also follows what the President wants)” Castro said.

Expanding digital financial inclusion

LandBank’s fee waiver aligns with the government’s push to expand digital financial inclusion and supports Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 1238, which seeks to promote the equitable costs of electronic fund transfers and promote broader adoption of digital payments.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said more banks are expected to waive or lower transfer fees for transactions with other financial institutions.

“In about two days, we expect more banks to follow,” he said.