From today, a bank or e-wallet may not charge materially more to send money to another institution than it charges for a transfer inside its own network, plus the cost of the switch. BSP Circular No. 1238 covers person-to-person transfers on InstaPay and PESONet, at banks and electronic money issuers alike. The moratorium on InstaPay and PESONet fee increases is lifted on the same date.
What changed
- BeforeA moratorium on InstaPay and PESONet fee increases, in place since 2021
- NowOff-us person-to-person fees may not materially differ from on-us fees plus the switch cost, and the moratorium is lifted
- EffectiveJuly 4, 2026
What the circular requires
Section 2 also requires that a person-to-person recipient get the full amount with no deductions, and says e-payment fees are expected to be lower than over-the-counter fees. The circular was signed on June 17, 2026 by Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. under Monetary Board Resolution No. 498 of June 4, 2026. Its effectivity clause sets the date at “fifteen (15) calendar days following its publication,” and the BSP told reporters that this falls on Saturday, July 4.
Memorandum No. M-2026-025, addressed to direct clearing participants and signed by Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan, says the lifting of the moratorium “shall take effect concurrently with the effectivity of BSP Circular No. 1238.”
The switch cost
BSP officials put the switch cost at ₱1.50 per InstaPay transaction. That figure comes from statements to the press, not from the circular itself. On the pricing test, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told Rappler that “the price of your off-us transaction must be the same as your on-us.”
What each institution now charges is its own decision. Our transfer fees page lists the current prices, with the batch rail covered under PESONet.