The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced that it is looking into measures to cut costs on small-value bank transfer fees. This includes lowering the reserve need for local lenders.
BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said the central bank will support banks to encourage more users to embrace digital payments. He tweeted that P15 bank transfer fees for P200 transactions is “quite large.”
E-transfers contribute to a share increase of digital transactions in payments. PESONet and InstaPay transactions climbed by 36% in 2022.
BAP president Antonio Moncupa Jr. also stated that the association supports the central bank’s goal of financial inclusion.
“The BAP maintains close collaboration with the BSP and stakeholders,” said Moncupa. He says working together ensures the goal of financial inclusion in an “efficient and sustainable” way.
During the Philippine Economic Briefing hosted PCCI, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said the industry is open to decrease or cut transfer costs.
Medalla informed attendees that the BSP is considering decreasing the RRR. It is the amount banks are required to keep with the central bank. This is in exchange for fee waivers on transactions or bank-to-bank payments.
“We’re literally bribing the banks to subsidize the small transactions. From what I hear from the BAP, they are receptive to this. And I look forward to more and more digital payments, especially the poor using their accounts, which have grown significantly,” Medalla said.
Banner Image Paulo Correa
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