Financial Blog

On 23 April 2018, at its head office in Manila, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) launched InstaPay, the latest automated clearing house (ACH) under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) Framework.  The NRPS aims to establish a safe, efficient, affordable, and reliable electronic retail payments system in the country, with an increase in the share of electronic retail payments to at least 20% by 2020.

InstaPay’s launch comes on the heels of the first ACH, PESONet, initiated in November 2017.  The launch was led by BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., and was attended by officials of national government agencies, members of the Monetary Board, and Directors and Senior Officers of participating institutions.

In his keynote address, Governor Espenilla highlighted the importance of working together with the private sector to push for the adoption of electronic payments.  He mentioned that broader utilization of these platforms will accelerate economic growth for the country and make the Philippines more competitive.

Via InstaPay, Filipinos can start enjoying safe and affordable electronic retail payments in real-time.  Individuals, businesses, and government institutions will be able to send and receive funds or make payments in real time of up to PHP50,000 per transaction, without limit, in a day. The transferred funds are instantly received in full as no fee is charged for the electronic crediting of funds to the receiving party’s account in InstaPay participating institutions. Charges may however apply to sending parties. Recipients may also be charged for cash withdrawals.

InstaPay will be accessible 24/7, all year round through mobile apps and internet banking facilities provided by participating banks and e-money issuers, with other e-channels following soon.  This eliminates the need to go through the trouble of physically travelling and transacting at bank branches or payments counters.

Both senders and receivers must have accounts with participating institutions to enjoy instant transfers. The interoperability of InstaPay conveniently allows users seamless transactions between accounts maintained in any of the participating institutions.

There are at present, 20 InstaPay participating institutions. The number is expected to increase quickly in the coming months as more institutions respond to customer demand. –BSP

Here’s a table that compares InstaPay and PESONet to existing money transfer medium:

Source: Yugatech Philippines