Bangko Sentral Urged To Suspend Online Transfer Fees Until End Of Pandemic

MANILA – The government should suspend the resumption of banks’ online transaction fees through Instapay until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of non-government policy experts said on Sunday.

Some banks had waived fees until the end of the year, “indicating that the costs to allow free transfers are nil, if not negligible,” Infrawatch Philippines said.

“If smaller banks can do it, with more certainty larger banks can,” the group said in a statement, noting that the country’s largest banks charge P50 per transaction, which translates into interest-free monthly income. of P1. .473 billion.

“[M]Most importantly, the BSP should step in and suspend the refund of bank transfer fees until the end of the public health emergency. “

InstaPay’s monthly transactions, which allows bank customers to transfer up to P50,000 per transaction, increased 820 percent from August 2019, according to Infrawatch Philippines.

Online transfers will decrease as fees return, he added.

“Since Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had legitimately intervened by setting interest rate caps on credit card transactions, it should similarly do the same with bank transfer fees,” the group said.

Banks initially voluntarily waived online transaction fees. The BSP subsequently urged all entities under its regulation to waive such fees to encourage the public to use online banking as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.