The number of Filipinos using digital platforms for their financial transactions continues to rise, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
The latest data showed the BSP was gaining inroads. Digital payments made up 52.8 percent of the volume of retail transactions in 2023, higher than the 42.1 percent share in 2022. The set of data for full-year 2024 is not yet available from the BSP.
The BSP data involved the transactions for InstaPay and PESONet, both digital clearing houses under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System.
The BSP is pushing online payments to account for 60-70 percent of the country’s total retail transactions by 2028.
Regarding value, 55.3 percent of retail transactions in 2023 were online, up from 40.1 percent in 2022.
The value of transactions done through InstaPay in March 2025 jumped by 52.9 percent to P825.7 billion from P540.1 billion in March the previous year.
The March 2025 amount was 15.9 percent higher than February’s P712.9 billion.
The value of PESONet transactions, meanwhile, climbed by 38.4 percent to P1.02 trillion in March 2025 from P735.4 billion in March 2024.
The March amount was 9.0 percent higher than the P933.0 billion in February 2025.
Volume climbs
The volume of InstaPay transactions stood at 195.5 million, higher by 72.2 percent from 113.5 million in the year-ago period.
On a month-on-month basis, InstaPay volume registered a 25.1 percent increase from the 156.2 million in February 2025.
The volume of transactions that went through PESONet, meanwhile, rose 22.5 percent year over year to 9.52 million from 7.77 million in March 2024.
It was also 5.5 percent bigger than February 2025’s 9.02 million.
InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000, useful for remittances and e-commerce.
PESONet, meanwhile, enables high-value transactions and is an electronic alternative to the paper-based check system.
Wider online channels
Michael Ricafort, RCBC’s chief economist, said continued strong growth in InstaPay and PESONet transactions could reflect the sustained rise in the country’s online business transactions that require safe, reliable, and credible digital payment systems, especially for large peso amounts.
“This may also reflect the increased use of e-wallets by Filipinos, which are also interconnected with the banking system electronically through InstaPay and PESONet,” Ricafort said.
He said more people may have found more value and convenience in using InstaPay and PESONet as alternatives to checks and other over-the-counter banking transactions, as they save more time and costs by banking anytime, anywhere in the country, and anywhere around the world as long as there is an internet signal.
“These digital or online banking transactions further improve financial inclusion, especially in isolated and far-flung
rural areas that do not have physical bank branches,” Ricafort said.
Lower fees
He added that the relatively faster growth in InstaPay and PESONet transactions could also reflect Filipinos’ increased financial literacy.
He said lowering transaction fees by some banks would also help encourage increased use and growth in InstaPay and PESONet transactions.
For those using InstaPay, sending or receiving money from the same digital bank or e-wallet is free.
However, transactions from other digital banks or e-wallets to a different digital bank or e-wallet cost from P10 to P20 per transaction.
PESONet fees, meanwhile, vary depending on the bank and the type of transaction. While others offer free bank-to-bank transfers, some banks charge fees reaching P200 or P250 per transaction.
