Lawmaker Urges Philippines Central Bank to Push for Lower Fees

Philippines’ Sen. Grace Poe is turning to the country’s central bank to request that it help appeal to financial institutions to lower digital and eWallet fees as one way to assist the many people in the country that rely on these services but have not yet regained employment since the pandemic hit.

“I am calling on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to urge banks and other financial institutions to lower their charges for digital transactions as Filipinos are striving to endure the impacts of COVID-19,” Poe said in a statement on the Senate’s website Friday (Feb. 18).

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By lowering the transaction fees, Poe said overall expenses will be less on the consumer side, and they will be able to affordably use more of the services offered by eWallets. Poe is head of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies.

The central bank enforced a moratorium on fee hikes in 2021 that covered fee increases for electronic fund transfers. The moratorium affected banks and financial institutions processing payments through InstaPay and PESONet.

The moratorium was intended to boost the economy while keeping digital payments moving, BSP Gov. Benjamin Diokno said in the past, per PhilStar. The moratorium was announced after there were reports of some banks raising fees for electronic fund transfers that were waived during the pandemic, according to reports.

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“The lifting of the moratorium will be reviewed by the (BSP) upon issuance of pricing standard/guidelines or once the volume of digital payments reaches 40% of the total retail payments in the country, whichever is earlier,” Diokno said in a memo at the time.