Two major Philippine banks have permanently waived their transfer fees, aligning with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) initiative to lower digital transaction costs for Filipinos.
Effective Tuesday, July 7, all person-to-person interbank transfers via Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) are now free of charge. LANDBANK has removed its InstaPay and PESONet fees for retail clients transacting via the LANDBANK Mobile Banking App (MBA) and iAccess.
The waiver also extends to LANDBANK's digital bank Overseas Filipino Bank, Inc. This move follows LANDBANK's earlier decision to waive fees for eligible person-to-government transactions via QRPh starting June 1.
LANDBANK Chairman and Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go emphasized the importance of the waiver, stating, "Every peso saved on transfer fees is a peso that Filipino families can spend on their daily needs and that businesses can reinvest in growth."
LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Lynette V. Ortiz added, "By expanding our zero-fee digital framework from government payments to everyday retail transfers, we want to ensure that our banking services directly uplift our workers, small business owners, and overseas Filipinos."
UnionBank has also waived its person-to-person transfer fees via InstaPay on UnionBank online. This move adds to its lineup of zero-fee services, including PESONet transfers, intrabank transactions, bills payments, telco load purchases, and in-store payments via QRPh.
UnionBank's digital bank UnionDigital Bank, Inc. already offers free InstaPay and PESONet transfers, subject to a default daily transaction limit of P500,000 that is adjustable up to P10 million.
Both LANDBANK and UnionBank join other financial institutions that have removed or lowered their person-to-person fees to comply with a BSP directive meant to lower retail digital transaction costs.
The BSP has mandated financial institutions to adopt reasonable, fair, and market-based pricing for person-to-person transfers. Fees charged for person-to-person e-payments between different institutions should not be materially different from charges for transfers within the same entity, with the difference in pricing only being the switch cost.
