Representative Joey Salceda wants PesoNet, Instapay, and other interbank transfer services to be capped by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
High bank transfer fees are considered an act of greed or avarice. BSP data shows that using PesoNet for interbank transfers can reach ₱2,100 per transaction. Meanwhile, local banks charge as high as ₱550, while InstaPay fees can go as much as ₱35 per transaction.
If you haven’t heard of InstaPay or PesoNet, these companies are privately owned firms backed by a group of financial institutions. Regular consumers mostly use InstaPay for transactions with smaller amounts, while PesoNet is more commonly used for more significant transactions.
In addition, Salceda criticizes banks imposing fees on interbank transfers.
“There are even charges for supposedly ‘unenrolled’ accounts, which to me is fiction. What is the value added that the bank is charging for? Even money for pickup within the same bank can be charged as high as ₱100. Again, what is the value added that merits charging?” — Representative Joey Salceda.
“There isn’t even a guarantee that these transfers are safe. Just a few months ago, we saw mass incidents of bank transfer fraud and interception,” he added.
According to Salceda, the BSP must stop charging exorbitant fees to transfer funds.
The representative also asked BSP to issue a regulation capping the charges as part of its regulatory process.
