Senator Poe: “Ang mababang bayarin ay hindi lamang makakabawas sa kanilang gastusin, kundi mag-uudyok din ng lalong paggamit sa mga e-wallet.”
On Friday, Senator Grace Poe has asked for the help of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to urge banks and financial institutions to lower digital payment charges and e-wallet fees.
In a statement, the senator cited that any Filipinos using those services have yet to find jobs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hinihimok natin ang Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas na hikayatin ang mga bangko at institusyong pampinansyal na babaan ang kanilang singil sa mga transaksyong digital habang nagsusumikap ang mga Pilipinong malampasan ang hagupit ng COVID-19,” the senator said.
The senator leads the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions, and currencies.
According to her, the coronavirus pandemic has driven millions of Filipinos to use e-wallets and digital payments system, and this has caused financial institutions and banks to charge pre-pandemic fees to profit from them.
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She also said that there are still many Filipinos who don’t have work and they’re making sure that each peso they spend will help their families.
Moreover, the senator said that lowering the transaction fees on those platforms will reduce expenses on the consumers’ side, and encourage them to use more of the digital wallets’ services.
“Ang mababang bayarin ay hindi lamang makakabawas sa kanilang gastusin, kundi mag-uudyok din ng lalong paggamit sa mga e-wallet,” Poe said. “Ang ating mga kababayan ang dapat na pinakamahalaga, at kung hindi natin sila tutulungan, mahihirapan din ang ating ekonomiyang makabangon sa epekto ng pandemya.”
Late last year, the central bank enforced a moratorium on the planned fee increases for electronic fund transfers of financial institutions and banks through PESONet and InstaPay until the share of digital payments to double transactions doubles to 40%.
BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno previously said that the moratorium is expected to help the economy and to sustain momentum in digital payments.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas made the announcement amidst reports of some financial institutions and banks which increased fees for electronic fund transfers that were initially waived during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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