BSP Seeks Clarity on Interbank Transfer Fee Compliance Amidst Ongoing Review

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is seeking further clarification from financial institutions whose compliance reports on interbank transfer fees have raised questions, as it advances its review of whether banks and e-wallets are adhering to rules limiting fee differences to switching costs. According to BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, the central bank will soon issue directives to financial institutions, marking the next phase after commencing the review of their compliance reports. "We will direct, we will communicate. We already have a response," Tangonan told reporters in Manila City. "We can ask, 'What is this? Why is the figure like this?'" He declined to provide further details, citing the confidentiality of communications with financial institutions. Tangonan had previously stated that financial institutions submitted their compliance reports on July 15, and these are currently being validated to ascertain compliance with Circular 1238. "We are validating whether their fees and the manner they came up with that amount complies to Circular 1238. Basically, that the difference between the interbank transfers and the transfers within the same institution would just be the cost directly associated with switching," he said on July 20. "If they're able to explain it and justify that they're directly associated with switching, so be it," he added. Circular 1238, which took effect on July 4, 2026, mandates that any difference between intrabank and interbank transfer fees should solely reflect the cost of routing a transaction through a payment network. This "switch cost" is estimated at P1.50, meaning financial institutions that already offer free intrabank transfers should charge a maximum of P1.50 for interbank transfers. A number of banks have since made their interbank transfers free, with Tangonan noting that the majority of the top 20 financial institutions have already complied with the circular. However, major e-wallets such as GCash and Maya continue to charge P10 for interbank transfers while keeping intrabank transfers free, placing them among the institutions whose pricing the BSP is scrutinizing. Tangonan had previously emphasized that the circular applies equally to all BSP-supervised financial institutions, irrespective of their business model.