Palace hopes more banks waive digital transfer fees

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday expressed hope that more banks would make digital fund transfers free of charge, following a move initiated by state-run Land Bank of the Philippines and later adopted by two private financial institutions.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said LandBank reduced transfer fees and eliminated convenience fees for certain person-to-government transactions in line with President Marcos’ directive.

“We wish all banks will emulate what LandBank started so it will be helpful to our countrymen,” Castro said at a press briefing.

Aside from LandBank, the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. have also waived fund transfer charges.

The Palace’s appeal comes as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) moves to lower the cost of digital financial transactions to encourage wider adoption and promote financial inclusion.

Earlier, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said more banks are expected to waive or reduce electronic transfer fees.

Last month, the central bank introduced measures to reduce interbank fees and require financial institutions to be ready to explain how they compute their charges.

Under BSP Circular 1238, issued on June 17, fees for person-to-person electronic payments across banks, e-wallet operators and other payment service providers should not be materially different from fees charged for transfers within the same institution.

The circular noted that transfers within a bank or e-wallet are often free, so any price difference should mainly reflect fees paid to the network switch operator.

“Lower fees will encourage more Filipinos and businesses to use and benefit from digital transactions. The BSP sees this as a step toward making digital transactions even more mainstream. At the same time, greater adoption can help improve efficiency across the payments system, reducing costs for everyone,” Remolona said in a recent statement.

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