PhilPaSS Plus transactions surge 32.6% to P174.6 trillion in Q2
The value of transactions through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement system jumped 32.6% year on year to P174.6 trillion in the second quarter, the fastest growth since the facility launched in 2021. Large-value and retail payments both drove the expansion.
The value of transactions processed through the Philippine Payment and Settlement System (PhilPaSS) Plus climbed by 32.6% to P174.6 trillion in the April-to-June period from P131.7 trillion a year ago, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This was the fastest quarterly expansion in transaction value since the facility was launched in July 2021. Quarter on quarter, the value rose by 5.8% from P165.1 trillion in the January-to-March period.
“The national payments and settlements system continued to expand in Q2 2026,” the BSP said in its Report on Economic and Financial Developments for the second quarter. “This reflected sustained financial activity and the increasing adoption of digital payment channels, supported by the implementation of enabling regulatory measures,” it added.
In terms of volume, PhilPaSS Plus transactions grew by 7.6% year on year to 447,253 from 415,850. Volumes also inched up by 2.6% from 436,086 in the first quarter. “This reflects the sustained intermediation and trade-settlement activity among financial institutions (FIs), alongside continued shift toward electronic payments,” the central bank said.
Broken down, large-value payments rose by 6.8% year on year, driven by a 15.4% climb in settlement of transactions between FIs, a 9.1% rise in foreign exchange trading, and an 8.9% increase in government securities trading. The BSP said these figures point to “sustained funding, trading, settlement activity.” Meanwhile, the volume of retail transactions posted a 7.4% year-on-year growth. “For retail transactions, PESONet and InstaPay (7.8%) transactions and customer payments (7.6%) grew the fastest, reflecting the ongoing transition toward electronic person-to-person and merchant payments,” the BSP said.
The value of large payments jumped by 25.8%, making up the bulk or 80.4% of total transactions in the second quarter. Retail payments went up by 26.8% in value terms. Some 42.6% of transactions during the period were between PhilPaSS Plus participants, including transfers between FIs, intra-account transfers, and foreign exchange and securities settlements. Customer payments accounted for 36.2% of total transactions.
“The expansion of payment system activity coincided with ongoing BSP initiatives to strengthen the safety, efficiency, and reliance of the digital payments ecosystem,” the BSP said. In the second quarter, it issued several regulations including establishing its digital marketplace rules, mandating fairer and more transparent fee structures for retail electronic fund transfers, and tightening incident management protocols for PhilPaSS Plus. “These reforms are expected to support continued digitalization while reinforcing confidence in the country’s payment and settlement infrastructure,” the central bank said.
