The more involved, the better. That is what you call network externalities.
In the first days of July 2026, two of the Philippines' major banks quietly dismantled a small but persistent barrier between people and their own money — the fee to move it. What began as BPI's decision to eliminate charges on digital transfers for over nine million customers became, within a week, a competitive cascade, with RCBC following and the central bank predicting more would come. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas framed it not as generosity but as logic: payment networks grow more valuable as friction disappears, and in a country still navigating its shift away from cash, the removal of even a ten-peso toll carries the weight of a larger promise.
- BPI eliminated InstaPay and PESONet fees on July 1, erasing costs that had quietly discouraged millions of Filipinos from moving money digitally.
- RCBC moved within days, offering free transfers through two platforms — one with monthly limits, one with none — signaling that the industry could not afford to stand still.
- BSP Governor Remolona invoked the logic of telephone networks: the more participants remove friction, the more the entire payment ecosystem gains value for everyone.
- Analysts were blunt — RCBC was not leading a trend but answering one, and other banks would soon face the same pressure from their own customers asking why fees remained.
- The lost fee revenue may matter less than what replaces it: customers who transfer freely are customers who keep deposits, and deposits fund loans, securities, and growth.
On July 1, Bank of the Philippine Islands stopped charging customers to move money electronically — ten pesos per InstaPay transfer, fifty for PESONet, simply gone. By the end of that week, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. had announced it would do the same. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, watching the sequence unfold, predicted more banks would follow within days.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. explained the underlying logic through a simple image: a telephone network with only one number to call is worthless. Payment systems work the same way — the more participants remove friction, the more valuable the entire ecosystem becomes for everyone. Economists call this network externalities, and Remolona believed the principle would pull the rest of the industry forward.
BPI's decision touched more than nine and a half million enrolled users. President Jose Teodoro Limcaoco described it as a step toward financial inclusion and a nudge away from cash. RCBC structured its offer differently — thirty free InstaPay transfers per month on its Pulz platform for transfers above one hundred pesos, and completely unlimited free person-to-person transfers through DiskarTech, its other digital banking service.
Analysts were less idealistic about the motivations. Jarrod Tin of DragonFi Securities called RCBC's move a tactical response to BPI, not a trend-setter. The real gain, he argued, would come indirectly: customers who transfer freely tend to leave more money sitting in savings accounts, and that deposit growth could fund loans and other balance sheet activity — quietly replacing the fee income that had been surrendered.
Manny Ocampo of Investment and Capital Corp. of the Philippines agreed the competitive pressure would spread. Customers would begin asking their own banks why fees remained, and banks would eventually have no good answer. What had started as one institution's decision had, within days, become the visible edge of a structural shift — the question no longer being whether Philippine banks would waive digital transfer fees, but how soon, and what they would build in their place.
On the first day of July, Bank of the Philippine Islands stopped charging customers to move money between accounts electronically. Ten pesos per InstaPay transfer, fifty pesos for every PESONet move—gone. By Friday of that same week, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. had announced it would do the same thing. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, watching this unfold, made a prediction: within two days, more banks would follow.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. explained the logic to reporters with a simple analogy. A telephone network with only one number to call is useless, he said. You need many numbers, many options, many connections. The same principle applies to payment systems. When more banks participate in eliminating friction from digital transfers, the entire ecosystem becomes more valuable to everyone. Economists call this network externalities—the idea that a service grows stronger as more people use it.
BPI's move affected more than nine and a half million enrolled users. The bank's president, Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, framed the decision as a matter of financial inclusion and encouraging the country's shift away from cash. Through the BPI mobile app, online banking platform, and three other digital channels, customers could now move money to other banks and e-wallets without paying a fee. What had cost them ten or fifty pesos now cost nothing.
RCBC followed with its own structure. On Pulz, the bank's digital platform, customers would get thirty free InstaPay transfers per month as long as each transfer was at least one hundred pesos. Below that threshold, or after thirty transfers, a ten-peso fee would apply. Through DiskarTech, RCBC's other digital banking service, all person-to-person InstaPay transfers would be completely free—no minimum, no monthly cap. RCBC's president and CEO, Reggie Cariaso, said the bank was committed to making digital banking accessible and affordable while supporting the country's broader movement toward cashless transactions.
Analysts saw the move differently than the bank's public messaging suggested. Jarrod Tin, an equity research analyst at DragonFi Securities, called RCBC's decision a tactical response to BPI's announcement. RCBC wasn't setting a trend, Tin said, but the move made strategic sense. In a banking landscape where frictionless digital transfers were becoming the baseline expectation, matching competitors was necessary to stay relevant. The real benefit, Tin argued, might not come from the fees themselves but from what happens next. When customers don't pay to transfer money, they're more likely to keep their money in the bank's savings accounts. That deposit growth could fund loan expansion, securities purchases, and other balance sheet initiatives—offsetting the lost fee income over time.
Manny Ocampo, president and chief operating officer of Investment and Capital Corp. of the Philippines, agreed that RCBC was responding to competitive pressure. He predicted the pressure would spread. Clients would begin asking their own banks why they still charged for online transfers. Other banks, he said, would feel that pressure mounting and would eventually have to make the same choice.
What started as one bank's decision to eliminate fees had become, within days, a visible industry shift. The BSP's confidence that more banks would follow suggested this was not an isolated move but the beginning of a structural change in how Philippine banking works. The question was no longer whether other banks would waive digital transfer fees, but how quickly they would move and what they would do to compensate for the lost revenue.
Citas Notables
In about two days, we expect more banks to follow.— BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr.
The move would be good for financial inclusion and to promote cashless transactions.— BPI President Jose Teodoro Limcaoco
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the BSP care whether banks charge fees for digital transfers? Isn't that a business decision?
It is, but the central bank sees it as a system-level problem. When fees are high or inconsistent, people don't use digital transfers. They stay with cash. The whole economy loses efficiency. The BSP wants the payment system to work like a telephone network—the more people connected, the more valuable it is for everyone.
So BPI and RCBC are losing money on this?
Not necessarily. They lose the fee income, yes. But if people keep more money in their accounts because transfers are free, the banks can lend that money out, invest it, grow their balance sheets. It's a trade-off that looks bad in the short term but could be profitable later.
Will every bank do this?
The BSP thinks so. Once one or two major banks move, the others face a choice: match them or watch customers leave. It becomes a competitive necessity, not a choice.
What does this mean for someone who uses a bank?
Cheaper, easier digital payments. No more thinking twice about whether to transfer money electronically because of the fee. It accelerates the shift away from cash, which makes the whole financial system more transparent and efficient.
Is there a downside?
Banks lose direct fee revenue, which might mean they look for other ways to make money—higher account maintenance fees, stricter lending standards. The benefit to consumers is real, but it's not free.