MANILA, Philippines — Fund transfers via the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)' InstaPay and PESONet facilities dramatically grew in terms of both volume and value in the first half as coronavirus fears and state-initiated lockdowns usher in an unprecedented shift to cashless transactions.
Central bank data released Tuesday showed combined volume of InstaPay and PESONet money transfers in the first six months stood at 21 million, 196% higher compared to the same period last year. These transactions were valued at P340.9 billion, up 92% year-on-year.
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The latest data is a welcome development for BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, who pledged to convert half of Filipinos’ monetary transactions by mid-2023 to cashless.
When Luzon was placed under enahanced community quarantine in mid-March, regulators suspended charges on money transfers, with some banks extending the waiver on PESONet and InstaPay fees until the end of the year.
Broken down, a total of 2.61 million transactions, cumulatively worth P240.6 billion, were coursed through PESONet from January to June, growing 97% and 73% annually in terms of volume and value, respectively. PESONet is the BSP facility that allows same-day bulk cash transfers worth more than P500,000 daily.
The BSP attributed the growth in PESONet transfers to the release of payouts for the government's cash aid program for small business employees, disbursed through a facility of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the volume of InstaPay transfers spiked 218% year-on-year in the first semester to reach18.3 million. Transactions were valued at P100.3 billion, up 157% on an annual basis. INstaPay caters to small amount transfers of up to P50,000 a day.
“With the quantum jump in the use of digital payments during the lockdown, I’m confident that this goal would be achieved sooner,” Diokno said last week.