Electronic fund transfers jump to P5.2 trillion in 4 months

MANILA, Philippines — The value of electronic fund transfers coursed through the PESONet and InstaPay platforms jumped by 37 percent to hit P5.22 trillion in the first four months as more Filipinos use digital channels for their financial transactions.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the combined volume of electronic fund transfers soared by nearly 70 percent to 420.4 million from January to April versus last year’s 247.8 million.

During the period, PESONet transactions grew by 32 percent to P3.12 trillion as volume rose by 8.5 percent to 31.9 million.

On the other hand, InstaPay transactions from January to April jumped by 45 percent to P2.1 trillion as volume surged by 78 percent to 388.5 million.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched in December 2015 under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System (NRPS) to promote a safe, efficient, affordable, inclusive and reliable retail payment system.

PESONet enables high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to the paper-based check system, while InstaPay is a real-time, low value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions of up to P50,000, and is most useful for remittances and e-commerce.

Last year, the combined value of PESONet and InstaPay transactions jumped by 29 percent to P12.86 trillion from P9.94 trillion in 2022 as volume increased by 47 percent to 929.64 million from 633.47 million.

BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan earlier said he is confident the central bank has reached its goal to have 50 percent of total retail transactions done digitally by end-2023.

However, the data will likely be released in July.

With the COVID-19 pandemic serving as catalyst, the share of online payments in the total volume of retail transactions rose to 42 percent in 2022 from 30 percent in 2021, based on the BSP’s 2022 Status of Digital Payments report.

Prior to the launch of the NRPS, the share of electronic payments to total retail transactions stood at only one percent in 2013.