The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the use of internet and mobile banking in the Philippines. Sad to say, the service is not always free specially for interbank (bank-to-bank) transfers. The happy news, though, is that there are ways on how to avoid bank transfer fees.
1. Banks with NO Interbank transfer fees
As of January 2022, here are the local banks that offer free bank to bank transfer:
- Asia United Bank (InstaPay and PESONet)
- CIMB Bank Philippines (PESONet)
- CTBC Bank (PESONet)
- Development Bank of the Philippines (PESONet)
- East West Bank (PESONet)
- HSBC (PESONet)
- ING Bank, N.V. (InstaPay and PESONet)
- Philippine Trust Company (PESONet)
- Tonik Digital Bank (InstaPay and PESONet)
- Union Bank (PESONet)
2. GrabPay (InstaPay)
GrabPay interbank and online wallet fees are WAIVED for now! Which means you can transfer your funds from GrabPay to your bank, GCash or PayMaya instantly for free!
For now, you can top-up your GrabPay Wallet free of charge from 7-11. Please note though that you cannot transfer your funds drawn from a credit card.
3. ShopeePay (PESONet)
If you are not in a hurry, you can transfer your funds from Shopee to any bank or online wallets free of charge. Note though that this service is not real-time and it may take 1-2 working days (normally) for the fund transfer to be processed. There is also no processing during holidays.
You can draw funds from Union Bank, BPI or GCash to your ShopeePay wallet for FREE via the direct link through their app.
4. GCash via CIMB (PESONet)
You can open a CIMB account online which is a GCash partner on its savings feature. So you can transfer your GCash money to CIMB and then CIMB to your bank or mobile wallet all for free!
This service is also not real-time though since it is via PESONet. It may take 1-2 working days (normally) for the fund transfer to be processed. And there is no processing during holidays.
