Are GCash’s P10 transfer fees here to stay?

Talks with the central bank continue, says GCash MANILA, Philippines – GCash isn’t committing to further reducing its P10 bank transfer fee just yet. At a media briefing following its historic October 20 stock market debut, Rappler asked executives of GCash parent Mynt how the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) new transfer fees rules would affect its revenues and whether keeping the P10 charge could hurt its competitiveness. Jep Tang, Mynt’s head of capital markets and investor relations, clarified that BSP Circular No. 1238 does not require banks and e-wallets to offer free transfers. Rather, it requires a more reasonable pricing structure, with charges reflecting the actual costs of providing the service. “We have a good working relationship with the regulators, and this discussion is still ongoing as to what level it should be moving forward,” Tang said. Pressed on whether GCash could lose customers to banks offering free transfers, Tang pointed to the company’s diversified revenue streams. “Our top payments use cases, there are five, and these five use cases account for 78% of our payment solutions revenue. And bank transfer fee is not one of them,” he said. “So, definitely, because we’ve reduced from P15 to P10, clearly that has been reduced. But what we’d like to highlight, and what we really want to see is that there will be more use cases because of these changes.” (READ: After the IPO party, GCash comes for 5-6 lending next) After the briefing, Rappler asked Tang about the status of discussions with the BSP. He stated that they were ongoing, although he declined to speculate on what the outcome of such talks could be. BSP Deputy Governor for Payments and Currency Management Mamerto Tangonan also confirmed to Rappler that the central bank is still continuing negotiations with the e-wallet giant. “We’re discussing,” Tangonan told Rappler on October 22, declining to give a timeline on when a resolution might be reached. How much is at stake? The financial stakes are difficult to pin down, even with GCash now a publicly listed company. According to GCash’s IPO prospectus, four revenue-generating services, GLoad, GBills, Pay Online, and offline payments, accounted for 78% of its payment solutions revenue in the first half of 2026. Express Send, its fifth flagship service, allows users to transfer money between GCash accounts for free. These are considered on-us transfers, compared with off-us transfers to other banks and e-wallets, for which GCash charges P10. These off-us transfers fall under the remaining 22%, alongside cash-in services, remittances, disbursements, merchant services, and other businesses. GCash does not disclose how much revenue comes specifically from the P10 transfer fee. Interestingly, the prospectus also acknowledges that further fee reductions could hurt its business. (READ: Why exactly did BPI make transfers free?) “Compliance with BSP Circular No. 1238 may require us to modify our pricing mechanisms, including with respect to transfer fees for certain electronic payment transactions, which could reduce Payment Solutions revenues. While reduced transfer fees may drive increased transaction volumes and broader user adoption of the GCash App, there can be no assurance that any such increase will fully offset the resulting reduction in per-transaction fee revenues,” Mynt said in its propsectus. Still an expensive convenience Remember when Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited the Philippines in 2024 as the United Nations’ special advocate for financial inclusion and asked a fisherman whether GCash was expensive? He agreed, wishing there were no deductions from his transactions. The Dutch royal later met GCash CEO Martha Sazon at the company’s headquarters, although what they discussed remained behind closed doors. After meeting the Queen, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. likewise told reporters that he wanted to “know the cost structure” of digital payments and determine the right threshold for fee-free transactions. Two years later, the BSP is still scrutinizing transfer fees charged by the country’s biggest e-wallets. GCash and rival Maya both reduced their InstaPay fees from P15 to P10 in July, but stopped there. And while GCash is leaving its options open, Maya appears more inclined to keep charging. In an earlier interview with Rappler, PLDT head of investor relations Jinggay Nograles described transfers as “one of the pillars of revenues” for Maya, which operates with a different cost structure from traditional banks. “Maya needs to be a going concern,” Nograles said. “Looking at that particular revenue stream, it does make sense for Maya to keep that P10 fee.” – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading