instaPay, a fast, secure and easy way to send and receive funds in the Philippines, was launched recently with BancNet as clearing switch operator. BancNet, the leading electronic payments network in the country, built and operates the technical infrastructure for this breakthrough funds transfer and payment facility.
instaPay was designed to be the fastest way to move money in the Philippines that is convenient and reliable as it interconnects banks and non-bank electronic money issuers (EMI) nationwide. Anyone with a bank account or e-wallet can send funds using his cellphone, tablet or laptop to access his bank’s or EMI’s mobile app or Internet banking site anytime of the day or night and anywhere he may be. His recipient will receive the money as soon as it is sent.
instaPay can be used to pay persons like plumbers, caterers, doctors, lawyers and other providers of goods and services. It can also be used to send money such as allowances of children or parents, rent to a landlord, or help for a sick relative. The recipient instantly receives the money in full without any charges deducted.
The maximum amount that can be sent is Php50,000 per transaction; however, multiple fund transfers can be done in a day. The sending fee is affordable regardless of the amount sent or where it is sent. It may vary from bank to bank or EMI.
instaPay is secure as it is protected by strict data security standards required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). One of these is two-factor authentication which verifies, through a unique code known only to the sender, whether the sender is the owner of the account or not.
As part of the National Retail Payment System, or NRPS, initiated by the BSP, instaPay is expected to be a major contributor to the BSP’s goal to increase the country’s electronic payments to 20% by 2020.
Currently, there are 21 financial institutions offering the instaPay service.
For sending and receiving transactions:
*Asia United Bank *BDO *China Bank *China Bank Savings*Equicom Savings*Security Bank and *Unionbank
For receiving transactions:
*CTBC Bank *EastWest Bank *Land Bank *Metrobank *Omnipay *PayMaya *Philtrust Bank *PNB *PSBank *RCBC *Robinsons Bank *Sun Savings *UCPB and *Yuanta Savings.
More banks and non-bank EMIs will offer instaPay soon.
CEOs of the pioneer instaPay banks and EMIs with BSP executives led by Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. (seated, center)
