BSP Eyes RRR Cut

The BSP may reduce banks’ reserve requirements as part of efforts to encourage financial institutions to cut or eliminate fees for small-value digital transactions.

Photo Insert: The value of electronic fund transfers coursed through the PESONet and InstaPay rose by 36% to P955.9 billion in January from P702.6 billion in the same month last year.

“We are ready to collaborate with banks and payment system operators to explore a cost-sharing system that excludes small transactions from these types of fees,” BSP chief Felipe M. Medalla said.

“We may even consider cutting the reserve requirement to enable banks to make these concessions. All these, in pursuit of a financial system that leaves no one behind,” he said.

The BSP had earlier reduced the banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to 12% from 18%. It aims to reduce the country’s RRR, the highest in the region, to single digit this year.

Medalla said one way to make digitalization more inclusive is to make small transactions free of charge. “If the fee is P15 for a P200 transaction, then the fee is quite large relative to the amount being sent,” he said.

The value of electronic fund transfers coursed through the PESONet and InstaPay rose by 36% to P955.9 billion in January from P702.6 billion in the same month last year, latest data from the BSP showed.

The combined volume also grew by 25.8% to 58.922 million from 46.83 million in 2022.

Last year, the combined value of PESONet and InstaPay transactions went up by 36% to P9.94 trillion from P7.24 trillion in 2021, with the volume rising by 21% to 633.46 million from 523.59 million.

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