Value and volume of InstaPay, PESONet transactions increase

TRANSACTIONS COURSED through PESONet and InstaPay rose as of end-November, with both payment systems seeing growth in volume and value, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Automated clearing houses PESONet and InstaPay’s combined value transactions increased by 37.9% to P8.9 trillion in the January-to-November period from the PHP 6.45 trillion in the same period in 2021.

In terms of volume, transactions done via PESONet and InstaPay also grew by 20.7% to 569.67 million in the 11-month period from 471.64 million transactions in the comparable year-ago period.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the rise in PESONet and InstaPay transactions came amid the continued reopening of the economy.

“The pandemic since 2020 also accelerated the adoption of digital/electronic banking transactions and electronic fund transfers, to complement and also as alternative to transactions done at physical branches,” Mr. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“These are also convenient for the banking public, as these electronic/digital banking transactions and fund transfers may be done ubiquitously from anywhere around the world on a 24/7 basis,” he added.

Broken down, the value of transactions done via PESONet surged by 42.6% to P5.75 trillion as of end-November, from PHP 4.03 trillion in the same period in 2021.

The volume of transactions coursed through the payment gateway stood at 77.124 million, increasing by 18.7% from the prior year.

Meanwhile, the value of transactions done through InstaPay also climbed by 30.7% year-on-year to PHP 3.15 trillion in January to November 2022 from PHP 2.41 trillion in the same period in 2021.

The volume of InstaPay transactions rose by 21.1% year on year to 492.54 million.

The central bank earlier said the increase in PESONet transactions was due to pension fund disbursements facilitated by the Development Bank of the Philippines, which were done twice a month.

The BSP also attributed the rise in InstaPay transactions to the wider use of online banking and e-money transactions for domestic remittances, e-commerce, bills payment, and other immediate low-value payments.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System.

PESONet caters to high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to the paper-based check system. On the other hand, InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to PHP 50,000 and is most useful for remittances and e-commerce.

The increases in PESONet and InstaPay transactions are expected to help the BSP achieve its twin goals to have 50% of retail payments done online and 70% of adult Filipinos become part of the formal financial system by this year. — Keisha B. Ta-asan