Central bank pushes use of e-gifts for holidays

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing for the use of electronic aguinaldo or e-gifts even as it gave assurance of a steady supply of fresh or crisp banknotes during the Christmas season.

In a statement, the central bank said it continues to issue lower-denomination banknotes amid unusually high demand during the holidays.

More fresh banknotes will enable the public to exchange old for crisp ones through banks.

The BSP also urged the public to exercise vigilance against parties exchanging banknotes for a fee.

“Exchanging banknotes through banks is free of charge,” the central bank said.

It also encouraged the public to consider using digital or electronic money in sending cash gifts to their godchildren, friends and family members.

“Sending e-money is a safer and more convenient way of gift-giving for both the givers and the recipients,” it added.

There are 324 million e-money accounts in the Philippines as of end-September.

“These accounts may be conveniently used for paying digitally for goods and services as well as for monetary gifts,” the BSP said.

The BSP has barred banks and financial institutions from raising fees on electronic fund transfers via InstaPay and PESONet until charges on small value transactions are waived.

The central bank’s Monetary Board issued Resolution No. 1599 last Dec. 7 maintaining the moratorium on InstaPay and PESONet fees that was implemented since Dec. 28, 2021.

As part of its efforts to promote digitalization, the regulator issued Memorandum No. M-2021-071 in December 2021 instructing financial institutions that participate in the InstaPay and PESONet automated clearing houses not to increase their fund transfer fees.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. earlier said the moratorium on fee increases for InstaPay and PESONet transactions would be lifted once zero fees are operationalized by the payment industry for small e-payments.

The BSP chief said the regulator would continue to work with the payments industry to lower, if not eliminate, fees imposed on small electronic payments.

“The reduction or removal of transfer fees for small e-payments supports our vision of digitalization and inclusivity. We are engaging the industry through dialogue to explore ways to reduce or completely eliminate fees for small-value transactions,” he said.

Data from the BSP showed that banks and financial institutions charge between P8 and P25 per InstaPay transaction and P5 to as much as P500 per PESONet transaction.

“Hence, participants who currently charge transfer fees for person-to-person fund transfers via InstaPay and PESONet are directed to maintain said fees. Relevant transfer fee that is currently waived may only be restored up to the amount of fee reported to the BSP prior to the waiver,” he stated in the order.

Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the BSP aims to shift 50 percent of total retail transactions to electronic channels and increase the number of banked Filipino adults to 70 percent by the end of 2023.

With COVID-19 mobility restrictions serving as catalyst, the share of digital payments to total retail transactions increased further to 42.1 percent in 2022 from 30.3 percent in 2021, while the number of banked Filipino adults almost doubled to 56 percent in 2021 from 29 percent in 2019.