InstaPay and PESONet transactions increase by 34.6%

THE VALUE of transactions made via InstaPay and PESONet rose by 34.6% in the Ffirst seven months, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Central bank data shows that transactions flowing through automated clearing houses rose to P9.45 trillion at the end of July, compared to P7.02 trillion in the same period a year ago.

The combined number of transactions via InstaPay and PESONet increased 64.6% to 786.2 million, compared to 477.5 million year over year.

Broken down, the value of PESONet transactions rose 28.4% to P5.56 trillion in July from P4.33 trillion a year ago.

The number of transactions going through the payment gateway also rose 8.4% to 56.84 million at the end of July, compared to 52.43 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, the value of transactions made through InstaPay reached €3.9 trillion at the end of July, up 45% from €2.69 trillion in the same period in 2023.

The number of transactions going through the clearinghouse rose 71.6% to 729.3 million, compared to 425.08 million a year ago.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched in December 2015 under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System framework.

PESONet is suitable for high-value transactions and can be considered an electronic alternative to paper checks, while InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is usually used for remittances and payments. ecommerce.

The share of online payments in the total volume of monthly retail transactions has risen from 42.1% a year earlier to 52.8% in 2023, the latest data from the BSP shows.

This exceeded the central bank’s target of digitalizing 50% of retail payment volumes by the end of 2023.

The volume of digital payments reached 2.62 billion in 2023, exceeding the 2.35 billion non-digital transactions. Meanwhile, the value of online payments reached $110.5 billion in 2023, also higher than the $89.3 billion in non-digital transactions.

The BSP said the biggest contributor to the increase in digital payments was payments to merchants, which accounted for the largest share (64.9%) of monthly digital payment volume.

The central bank aims to achieve a 60-70% share of digital payments in total retail payment volume by 2028, in line with the Philippine Development Plan. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson