Lower InstaPay fees spur digital payments – study
Removing InstaPay transfer fees doubled transaction activity among DiskarTech users and increased it by about 30 percent among Pulz users, according to a study showing how charges can influence Filipinos’ use of digital payments.
MANILA, Philippines — A study conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Philippines, in collaboration with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), reveals that eliminating InstaPay transfer fees significantly boosts transaction activity among users of DiskarTech and Pulz mobile banking platforms.
The research, led by IPA principal investigator Russell Toth, involved randomly assigning 15,000 RCBC Pulz and DiskarTech customers to different fee levels, including free transfers and low charges. The study's findings, presented at the BSP headquarters, demonstrate that reduced fees not only increased overall transactions but also encouraged individuals who had not previously utilized InstaPay to start making transfers.
The impact was more significant among DiskarTech users, with a 30% increase in activity, compared to a smaller yet notable 10% rise among Pulz users. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan highlighted that one-third of Filipinos consider high fees a barrier to frequent use of digital payments, underscoring the influence of pricing on both adoption and continued engagement.
RCBC's Lito Villanueva emphasized that pricing decisions should extend beyond revenue generation to include financial inclusion efforts. The study also revealed that the effect of lower charges on users who had not engaged with InstaPay before the research was present but not overwhelming.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
