The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is in the final stages of negotiations with banks and non-bank financial institutions to exempt small electronic payment transactions from fees in exchange for lower reserve requirements (RR).
BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla expressed optimism that an agreement will be reached soon between the central bank and all supervised financial institutions offering online or e-payment services through InstaPay.
The agreement would involve implementing zero-rate fees on small payments below a certain threshold of transactions.
The goal is to eliminate fees on small InstaPay transfers and payments, making them as cost-effective as cash transactions.
As of the end of March, some banks and non-banks already offer free InstaPay services, while others charge fees ranging from P8 to P25 per transaction.
