Race to zero heats up as Metrobank waives InstaPay, PESONet fees

The race to zero transfer fees gathered pace on Thursday after the Ty family-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. became the second of the country’s Big Three banks to waive InstaPay and PESONet charges, according to a notice displayed on its mobile banking app.

The industry giant informed clients on its mobile app that said transfers to any bank or e-wallet through the Metrobank App are now free.

Metrobank, the country’s third-largest lender, joins No. 2 bank Bank of the Philippine Islands in waiving InstaPay and PESONet fees.

The move comes as more banks reduce or remove transfer charges to attract digital banking customers and follows a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas circular encouraging reasonable and market-based pricing for person-to-person electronic fund transfers.

Union Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, which will begin waiving the fees on July 10, and the Land Bank of the Philippines are among the lenders that have fully rolled out free transfer offers. 

Digital wallets such as Maya and GCash have also reduced their transfer fees.

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus