Philippine digital transactions bypassed the ₱16-trillion threshold during the first six months of the year, powered by a massive surge in volume as local banks and digital wallets aggressively reduced or eliminated transfer charges.
Statistics from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reveal that the combined value of transfers managed via the central bank’s electronic clearers, PESONet and InstaPay, surged 44.6% to hit ₱16.09 trillion from January to June, up from ₱11.13 trillion during the corresponding timeframe in 2025.
This financial growth coincided with an exponential jump in transaction frequency. Total transaction numbers scaled up by 165.8%, ballooning to 4.2 billion transactions in the six-month span from the 1.6 billion recorded the previous year.
Valuations coursed through PESONet alone climbed by 31.9%, or ₱1.96 trillion, to reach ₱8.11 trillion against the ₱6.15 trillion logged in 2025. Its transaction volume similarly went up by 13.8%, rising to 64.1 million from 56.3 million year-on-year.
Concurrently, the total amount processed via InstaPay expanded by three-fifths, jumping by ₱3 trillion to settle at ₱7.98 trillion compared to the prior year’s ₱4.98 trillion. The volume of InstaPay transfers by the end of June nearly tripled, climbing to 4.14 billion from 1.52 billion in 2025.
Launched in December 2015 under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System (NRPS) initiative, PESONet and InstaPay serve distinct digital banking needs.
PESONet acts as a digital substitute for traditional paper checks by processing large-value fund transfers, whereas InstaPay facilitates real-time, low-value transactions capped at ₱50,000 for e-commerce and retail remittances.
For the month of June alone, combined clearings via both networks hit ₱2.91 trillion, a 45.4% increase from ₱2 trillion in the same month last year. Monthly transaction volumes nearly doubled to 720.3 million from 370.8 million. Specifically, PESONet handled ₱1.49 trillion across 11.5 million transfers, while InstaPay accounted for ₱1.42 trillion over 708.8 million transactions.
The central bank noted that the widespread industry move to drop or decrease interbank fees for InstaPay and PESONet has successfully stimulated transaction volume growth by up to 50 percent.
BSP Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS) Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan explained that the reduction or eradication of these fees serves as a calculated effort to bridge the financial inclusion gap.
“Holy grail of financial inclusion by attracting those previously excluded from the formal economy,” Tangonan said.
Prior to major commercial banks rolling out zero-fee policies in July, digital banking newcomers like SeaBank (now MariBank) and GoTyme Bank led the market with complimentary transfers. Specialized platforms, such as BPI’s VYBE app, also extended fee-free transactions to users.
Similarly, state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines cut its InstaPay fees from ₱15 to ₱8 in May, waived charges for government transactions on June 1, and phased out transfer fees entirely on July 7.