Free InstaPay and PESONet transfers: the full bank and e-wallet list after BSP’s 2026 rule change

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas lifted its five-year freeze on electronic fund transfer fees in mid-2026, and the result was not what most people feared. Instead of banks piling on new charges, a wave of institutions made transfers free, the biggest e-wallets cut their fees in half, and only a handful of digital banks kept a small per-transfer cost. Below is the full list of updated transfer fees across Philippine banks, digital banks, and e-wallets after BSP Circular No. 1238, so you can see at a glance which ones are now free.

What changed at the BSP

The shift comes from two moves. On June 17, 2026, the BSP issued Memorandum M-2026-025, where the Monetary Board approved lifting the moratorium on fee increases for InstaPay and PESONet transactions. That freeze had been in place since December 2021. At the same time, BSP Circular No. 1238 updated the National Retail Payment System Framework and the framework for merchant payment acceptance. Under the circular, BSP-supervised financial institutions had to bring their digital transfer pricing to “reasonable” levels by July 4, 2026, with fees that reflect only the real cost of switching and processing. Institutions must also disclose charges clearly, and the BSP can demand justification if pricing looks unreasonable. Finance Secretary Frederick Go noted that some transfer fees still reach as high as PHP 50, and said talks are ongoing to push costs lower.

The full list: who is now free, who cut, who kept limits

Here is the comprehensive directory. “Free” means the institution removed its InstaPay and PESONet transfer fee outright (or already had it free). “Limited free” means free only up to a quota. “Reduced” means the fee dropped but is still charged.

Traditional banks: a stampede to zero

The biggest story is how many banks dropped fees entirely. BPI led the charge on July 1, permanently removing InstaPay and PESONet fees across its app, BPI Online, the VYBE e-wallet, and BizKo, a change that touches more than nine million app users. BDO followed through BDO Online and BDO Pay. Then a tight cluster of banks joined: LandBank and OFBank on July 7 (including QRPh retail and person-to-government payments), UnionBank the same day, Metrobank, PSBank, and Chinabank on July 9, Security Bank and PNB on July 10, and EastWest on July 15. AUB is scheduled to offer free InstaPay and PESONet transfers beginning July 20. RCBC is the notable limited case: free for the first 30 InstaPay transfers a month via its Pulz app (minimum PHP 100 each), then PHP 10.

E-wallets and digital banks: smaller cuts, a few kept fees

The e-wallet side moved less dramatically. GCash reduced its InstaPay bank transfer fee from PHP 15 to PHP 10 effective July 4, 2026, with a PHP 50,000 per transaction cap. Maya matched that PHP 10 level for transfers to other banks on July 6, while Maya-to-Maya transfers and PESONet stay free. Transfers between GCash users remain unchanged, with up to 500 free send and receive transactions a month and a PHP 5 fee only for select users who exceed the limit.

Among digital banks, the picture is mixed. GoTyme offers 20 free InstaPay transfers a month (PHP 9 after) and free PESONet, but it permanently disabled its popular cash-in via linked bank account feature on February 1, 2026, pushing users onto InstaPay or PESONet rails. CIMB gives 2 free InstaPay transfers a day (PHP 10 after). Tonik, OwnBank, Netbank, UnionDigital, MariBank, BPI BanKo, Vybe, and Bayad keep both rails free. MariBank removed its monthly cap on free interbank transfers in 2026. Coins.ph, Komo, HSBC, UNO, and EastWest’s Komo offer free PESONet. The only institution that has been reported to still charge a flat per-transfer fee is Netbank (around PHP 5 for InstaPay), though that figure comes from user reports rather than a current official advisory and should be confirmed with the bank.

The catch: convenience features that quietly died

The fee cuts came with a trade-off many users felt before they noticed the savings. Under PPMI and BSP rules, proprietary one-tap links between apps are being retired in favor of standardized, interoperable rails. BPI deactivated linked BPI accounts inside partner e-wallets such as GoTyme, GrabPay, Maya, MyToyota Wallet, and Tonik starting January 21, 2026. GoTyme ended linked-account cash-ins from BPI, UnionBank, Chinabank, and RCBC on February 1. The money still moves, but you now initiate it from your bank’s own app instead of inside the wallet, an extra step that can also mean a fee if your bank charges for the rail.

Why the BSP pushed this

The regulator’s goal is a payments system that is open, interoperable, and governed by common standards rather than closed, exclusive arrangements. Tighter oversight of InstaPay and PESONet settlements gives the BSP more power to watch how funds clear and credit, shortens clearing intervals, and speeds up posting. It also forces failed transfers to be refunded within hours instead of days, and publishes fee matrices so users can compare costs across institutions. The bargain is fewer hidden shortcuts in exchange for clearer protection and a level playing field.

What it means for your wallet

If you mostly bank with a large institution, sending money is now effectively free through its app. The places to watch are e-wallets, where PHP 10 per InstaPay transfer adds up if you move money daily, and digital banks like CIMB or GoTyme that cap free transfers. The smart move is to route outgoing transfers from a zero-fee bank app rather than from a wallet, keep an eye on monthly free quotas, and use QRPh for retail and government payments where LandBank and others have also removed fees. The freeze is over, but for most Filipinos, the surprise is that transfers got cheaper, not costlier.

Sources: BSP Circular No. 1238 and Memorandum M-2026-025, plus bank and e-wallet advisories reported by YugaTech (June to July 2026), MARKETECH APAC, and 8List.ph. “Baseline” entries reflect free-transfer policies documented in YugaTech’s December 2025 directory that remain in effect. Verify the latest terms with your bank, as free-transfer policies can change.