Digital payments via InstaPay, PESONet surged 43% in Jan ’26
The shift toward digital and cashless transactions accelerated at the start of 2026, as transactions through InstaPay and PESONet skyrocketed in January.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the combined value of transactions through the two automated clearing houses spiked 43 percent from a year earlier to P2.58 trillion by the end of January.
Transaction volume also hit 688 million, more than triple—or 329 percent higher—than the 160.2 million recorded in January 2025.
“[It’s] driven by wider use of mobile banking and e-wallets, strong remittance flows, and growth in e-commerce,” said John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute of Development Studies.
“Digital payments should continue to grow at a double-digit pace, supported by financial inclusion, better payment infrastructure, and changing consumer behavior, although growth may gradually normalize as adoption matures,” he added.
This sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., who said growth would remain strong but “not at the same explosive pace.”
“What we’ll see next is steady, sustainable expansion as digital payments become a normal part of daily life for households and businesses,” he said.
PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System.
Fund transfers
Broken down, the value of InstaPay transactions surged 65 percent year-on-year to P1.24 trillion, while volumes jumped 350 percent to 678 million.
InstaPay is a real-time digital payment system for transactions of up to P50,000, widely used for retail purchases, toll and ticket payments and e-commerce, particularly supporting micro, small and medium enterprises. As of end-January, there were 93 InstaPay participants.
PESONet, meanwhile, saw its transactions increase 23.8 percent in value to P1.3 trillion, handling 10.5 million transactions, up 9 percent from last year.
PESONet handles large-value fund transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to paper checks. Payments are processed in batches and cleared at set intervals, allowing recipients to receive funds within the same banking day if instructions are sent before the cutoff time. About 124 banks participate in PESONet.
The BSP aims to digitalize 60 percent to 70 percent of retail payments by 2028.
