THE COMBINED VALUE of InstaPay and PESONet transactions surged by 36.8% year on year as of in the first four months of 2025, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Transactions coursed through the two automated clearing houses jumped to P7.15 trillion as of end-April from P5.22 trillion in the same period a year prior.
Meanwhile, the volume of transactions made via InstaPay and PESONet nearly doubled to 837.1 million in the period from 420.4 million last year.
Broken down, the value of transactions done through PESONet climbed by 28.6% to P4.01 trillion as of end-April from P3.12 trillion in the previous year.
The total volume of PESONet transactions also increased by 16.5% to 37.1 million from 31.9 million.
Meanwhile, the total value of InstaPay transactions stood at P3.13 trillion in the first four months of 2025, higher by 49% from P2.1 trillion a year prior.
The volume of transactions that went through the payment gateway more than doubled to 799.97 million from 388.5 million in the comparable year-ago period.
PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses that were launched in December 2015 under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System framework.
PESONet caters to high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.
Meanwhile, InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is mostly used for remittances and e-commerce.
Latest central bank data showed digital payments made up 52.8% of the volume of retail transactions in 2023, higher than the 42.1% share in 2022.
In terms of value, 55.3% of retail transactions in 2023 were done online, higher than the 40.1% the year prior.
The central bank earlier said the increase in digital payments was driven by wider use of online transaction channels, especially e-wallets, among individuals and businesses, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating the shift.
The BSP wants online payments to make up 60-70% of the country’s total retail transaction volume by 2028.
The share of Filipinos with bank accounts reached 65% of the adult population in 2022. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
