UnionBank waives InstaPay fees

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has removed InstaPay transfer fees for its nearly 19 million customers as the push for greater inclusivity and accessibility in Philippine digital payments continues to gain momentum.

Announced on Monday evening, UnionBank said on social media that, effective Tuesday, 7 July, InstaPay fees would be waived, allowing customers to send money to accounts at other local banks without paying transaction fees through the UnionBank Online platform.

The bank likewise removed fees for UnionBank-to-UnionBank transfers, as well as bills payments, telco load purchases and QRPh in-store payments.

InstaPay fees were previously set at P10 per transaction. PESONet transfers, which typically involve amounts exceeding InstaPay’s transaction limit of P50,000, have already been free for UnionBank customers and will continue to be so under the new initiative.

The Aboitiz Group’s banking arm is the latest financial institution to waive online transaction fees in response to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) recent circulars calling for more equitable pricing of electronic fund transfers and reduced costs for consumers.

Land Bank of the Philippines likewise announced on Monday that it would waive InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees after earlier reducing its InstaPay fee to P8 from P15. The Bank of the Philippine Islands and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. have also permanently waived their online transfer fees, while digital bank Maya and Lucio Co-backed Philippine Bank of Communications reduced their respective InstaPay fees to P10.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Malacañang hopes more banks will join the move to reduce or eliminate online transaction fees to help Filipinos save more, noting that the push for financial inclusion is aligned with the President’s priorities.