InstaPay, PESONet transactions rise 35%

MANILA, Philippines — The value of electronic fund transfers coursed through InstaPay and PESONet jumped by 35 percent to  P9.45 trillion in the first seven months from P7.02 trillion a year ago as Filipinos continued to use digital channels for their financial transactions.

The latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the combined volume of electronic fund transfers soared by 65 percent to 786 million from January to July this year versus last year’s 478 million.

During the period, the value of InstaPay transactions rose by 44 percent to P3.9 trillion from a year-ago level of P2.7 trillion as volume surged by 72 percent to 729 million from 425 million.

For July alone, the value of InstaPay transactions increased by 43 percent to P611 billion from P427 billion in the same month last year. Volume climbed by 62 percent to 117 million from 72  million.

The value of PESONet transactions from January to July also increased by 30 percent to P5.6 trillion versus last year’s P4.3 trillion as volume stood at 56.8 million, rising by 8.4 percent from 52.4 million a year ago.

For July, the value of PESONet transfers jumped by 30 percent to P868 billion from P667 billion. Volume grew by 16 percent to 8.7 million from 7.5 million previously.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched in December 2015 under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System 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. At the same time, 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 929.6 million from 633.5 million.

Based on the 2023 Report on the Status of Digital Payments in the Philippines, the share of digital payments to total retail transactions jumped to 53 percent last year from 42  percent in 2022.

The BSP is now targeting to increase the share to 60-70 percent in the next four years, in line with the government’s Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.