Transfers via InstaPay, PESONet hit P22 trillion

TRANSACTIONS made via InstaPay and PESONet breached P22 trillion at end-November as more Filipinos used digital finance platforms.

The combined value of InstaPay and PESONet transactions surged by 41.15% to P22.054 trillion as of November from P15.624 trillion a year ago, the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

The volume of transactions made via the two clearing houses more than tripled (203.6%) year on year to 4.065 billion in the January-to-November period from 1.339 billion.

Broken down, the value of InstaPay transactions jumped by 56.18% to P10.209 trillion in the first 11 months of 2025 from P6.537 trillion in the previous year.

The volume of transactions coursed through the payment gateway was at 3.958 billion at end-November, more than triple (217.39%) the 1.247 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the value of transactions done on PESONet also rose by 30.35% to P11.845 trillion in the 11-month period from P9.087 trillion in the previous year.

In terms of volume, transfers made via the clearing house climbed by 16.19% year on year to 106.626 million from 91.772 million.

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

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.

Meanwhile, PESONet is mainly used for high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.

The BSP wants digital payments to account for 60%-70% of the total volume of retail payments by 2028, in line with the Philippine Development Plan.

The share of online payments in monthly retail transactions stood at 57.4% in terms of volume and 59% in value terms in 2024, according to the BSP’s 2024 Status of Digital Payments in the Philippines report.

These are up from 52.8% and 55.3%, respectively, in 2023. — Katherine K. Chan