Major Philippine lenders are accelerating a shift toward low-cost or free digital fund transfers as new rules from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) push banks to align fees with actual processing costs. Finance Secretary Frederick Go said he is optimistic that almost all digital transactions, including interbank and intrabank movements, will eventually be free, following recent announcements from Bank of the Philippine Islands and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

BPI, controlled by the Ayala group, has permanently removed transfer fees for transactions made through InstaPay and PESONet on its digital channels starting July 1, 2026. RCBC is set to follow with a broader waiver of InstaPay charges via its Pulz mobile app beginning July 4, 2026. The Yuchengco-led bank said customers will be able to make up to 30 InstaPay transfers per month for free, with a minimum of P100 per transaction, after which a P10 fee will apply or for transfers below the threshold.

The fee cuts come as the BSP enforces a revamped pricing framework for electronic payments. Under Memorandum 2026-025, which implements Circular 1238, digital transaction fees must be based on actual processing expenses, remain lower than over-the-counter charges, and ensure that recipients receive the full amount sent. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said he expects more lenders to waive interbank fund transfer fees as the central bank limits the gap between intrabank and interbank pricing to the so-called “switch cost” — estimated at P1.50 per transaction — or the cost of routing payments through a network.

The new regime also follows the lifting of a moratorium on changes to InstaPay and PESONet fees and the rollout of zero-fee payments for small merchants, part of the regulator’s broader effort to promote fair and transparent electronic payment pricing. InstaPay, launched by the BSP in 2018, enables real-time fund transfers across banks and electronic money issuers and has become a key rail for the country’s rapidly expanding digital payments market. As banks trim fees and layer on app-specific incentives, competition with rival lenders and financial technology firms is intensifying, reinforcing the government’s push to steer more transactions away from cash and into formal, digital channels.

Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd. is ramping up store openings and restoring a full dividend payout after a sharp rebound in profit, underscoring management’s confidence in the recovery of Hong Kong and Macau’s beauty retail market. The cosmetics chain’s full-year sales rose 14.2% to HK$4.383 billion, while profit increased 1.6 times from a year earlier, allowing the group to boost its final dividend and return its payout ratio to 100%. Chairman and chief executive Simon Kwok said the stronger distribution reflects a “very strong” outlook, pointing to broad-based improvement in store traffic and spending.

Kwok said all key operating indicators in Hong Kong and Macau — including revenue, same-store sales, transaction volume, average ticket size and units per transaction — recorded year-on-year gains in the last financial year. Momentum has continued into the new year: in the first quarter of the current financial year, total revenue grew 24%, with offline sales up 30.9%. Hong Kong and Macau led with a 32.5% jump in offline sales, while Southeast Asia rose 17%. Online revenue slipped 3.2% overall, weighed by an 18.1% decline in mainland China, even as Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia posted online growth.

On the back of the recovery, Sa Sa is reviving its brick‑and‑mortar expansion, particularly in tourist districts that were heavily rationalised during the downturn. The company plans to open 10 new stores in the current financial year; it has already added outlets in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, including a large upstairs shop of about 6,000 to 7,000 square feet at the Mong Kok Man Wah Centre, on top of an existing ground‑floor unit. A store at the Airside mall in Kai Tak is slated to open in August, and another at Lok Ma Chau is planned to capture cross‑border traffic. Kwok said tourist‑area stores are now about half the number they once were, leaving “substantial room” to rebuild the network, though he stressed the group will not neglect local customers.

Store format will be a key part of the strategy. Kwok said he and his wife favour large outlets and that she has advocated opening flagship stores to serve both mainland and local shoppers in a more spacious, comfortable environment. Still, decisions between large and small formats will depend on rents and operating costs; smaller shops require less staff and investment. He said that while the opening of new outlets may “slightly” dilute same‑store sales metrics, the impact should be limited as long as locations and rental terms are carefully chosen. Footfall remains the main focus: “Only when there are people will there be revenue,” he said, adding that broader product assortment and competitive pricing should help underpin demand even as more drugstore and beauty chains enter the market.

Sa Sa also aims to stabilise and eventually grow its Southeast Asian operations, where the group ended the last financial year with 75 stores — 70 in Malaysia and five in Singapore. The region’s near‑term target is to achieve break‑even. Three of the five Singapore stores are already profitable, and Kwok said the company would consider opening more outlets there if suitable opportunities arise, noting that Singaporean sales growth was particularly strong in the second half of the year. The Malaysian business is described as stable, with management planning tighter cost control. Kwok played down concerns about competition from other travel destinations and cross‑border consumption trends, saying that Hong Kong remains convenient for many mainland visitors, some of whom come once or twice a month, and that the company’s breadth of products and pricing remain competitive.