Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone with a peso bank account or e-wallet account (with or without ATM/debit cards) can use instaPay. Money is sent through the bank’s mobile banking app or website or the e-wallet app in smartphones or tablets.

In general, you do not need to register to use instaPay. The service is accessed through your bank’s or e-wallet’s mobile app or through an online banking website.

However, you may need to register with your bank or e-wallet to access their respective apps or online services. Please check with your bank or e-wallet.

Simply go to your bank’s or e-wallet’s mobile app, or online banking website to start sending money.

Your recipient can check the balance of his account. Some banks and e-wallets also notify their customers via SMS or email.

InstaPay can be used to send money to another person’s bank or e-wallet account. For example, you can send allowance to your children or parents; or send money to a relative or friend in the province. 

You can also use it to pay for goods or services, such as service fees of plumbers, electricians, and cleaners; or professional fees of doctors, dentists, lawyers, and accountants.

You can send money to customers of InstaPay partner banks and e-wallets.

The maximum amount you can send per transaction is PhP50,000. However, you can have more than one transaction in a day.

In general, as many times as needed. Some banks have limits on the number of times you can InstaPay in a day. Please check with your bank. 

The sender is charged a small fee per transaction no matter the amount sent as long as it is within the PhP50,000 limit. The fee is deducted from the sender’s account. The amount of transaction fee is set by the InstaPay partner.  

The receiver, on the other hand, is not charged and will receive the money in full.

Money sent using instaPay is received instantly. The service is available 24×7, all year round.

InstaPay does not have an app of its own. The InstaPay app you’ll find on the Apple App Store and the Google

PlayStore is a different service. Sending money via InstaPay is done through your participating bank’s or e-money issuer’s smartphone app or website.

No, you cannot send money overseas with InstaPay. InstaPay only allows sending money within the Philippines.

InstaPay is an electronic fund transfer service that enables the transfer of money between accounts in different banks or e-wallets in real-time, anytime and anywhere in the country. It is powered by electronic payment network BancNet.

InstaPay QR enables the transfer of money between accounts in different banks and e-wallets by scanning a QR code instead of typing an account number. It follows the QR Ph standard.

A QR code (short for “Quick Response code”) is a 2-dimensional image-based bar code capable of holding large amounts of data. QR codes store data using patterns of black dots and white spaces, arranged in a square grid. It can be read by a smartphone QR scanner or mobile device that is equipped with a bar-code reader.  

When personal and financial data are stored in it, a QR code can be used to send and receive money. A recipient of the funds shows his /her QR code to the payer or sender who will scan the code to initiate the transaction. 

QR Ph is the Philippines’ QR code standard based on the Europay-Mastercard-VISA (EMV) standard, a global standard for secure payments. It gives customers of partner banks and non-bank electronic money issuers (EMI) or e-wallets a quick and safe method to pay, transfer to and receive funds from other bank and e-money accounts in the Philippines. 

QR Ph allows a common QR code to be scanned and interpreted by any participating bank or EMI mobile app and used for fund transfers and payments. QR Ph interconnects participating banks and non-bank e-money issuers much like how the ATMs of different banks are interconnected.

InstaPay QR offers you added security, convenience, and peace of mind.

You can send or receive money in the comfort and safety of your home or office and you need not withdraw and carry large amounts of cash.

If you are sending money, you do not have to type your recipient’s account number and you are assured that your money will go to the correct account.

If you are receiving money, you do not have to share your account number with the person sending the money and you are assured that the money is sent to the correct account.

InstaPay QR can be used by customers of partner banks and e-wallets through their mobile apps.

You need a smartphone with a camera and a reliable data/Internet connection. You also need to download the mobile app of your bank or EMI.

To receive money, you need to generate a QR code through your bank’s mobile app or your e-wallet. 

You can use InstaPay QR to:

• send or receive allowances of/from your parents, children and other relatives
• send or receive charitable and sympathy donations
• repay someone or get paid for a loan
• pay or get paid for services like plumbing, electrical, cleaning, tutorial, repair, etc.
• pay or get paid for online medical consultations 
• pay or get paid for goods bought/sold online 

It’s as easy as 1,2,3!

1. Open your bank app or e-wallet and go to Pay or Transfer via QR.
2. Scan your recipient’s QR code.
3. Input source account and amount, then confirm.

It’s as easy as ABC!

a) Open your bank app or e- wallet.  

b) Click Generate a QR code

c) Share your QR code with the sender.

You can send or receive up to Php50,000 per transaction. 

In general, yes. The amount varies from bank/EMI to bank/EMI. The sender pays the fee. The recipient receives the amount in full.

Click here to view the InstaPay Partners for sending money via QR Code

Sending to a mobile number or email address is a feature of InstaPay which allows you to send money instantly to another bank or e-wallet without having to type your recipient’s account number. Instead, you type or select his mobile number or email address if he has linked it to his bank or e-wallet account.

If you are a customer of an InstaPay partner and you link your account to a mobile number or email address, there is no need to give out your account number to the person sending you money.

Although e-wallets are not yet partners for this feature, you can still receive money from other partner banks and e-wallets since your mobile number is your e-wallet account number. 

If your bank has this InstaPay feature, you can also link your mobile number to your bank account because with this feature, you can link the same mobile number or email address to your account. 

Your mobile banking app will display parts of your name to the sending customer for his confirmation, “Example: Transfer to Juan D.”. Only when he confirms and accepts it will the fund transfer proceed.

Yes, if your banks offer this InstaPay feature. Note that not all InstaPay banks and e-wallets offer this feature. Please check with your bank or e-wallet first. If the feature is not yet available, you may still receive money by giving the sender your account number  

You can add a nickname depending on your bank’s rules.

While your registration is active and your mobile number is linked to your bank account, the fund transfer will push through. Therefore, you need to register your new mobile number with your bank immediately. Always keep your personal information with your bank updated. Please ask your bank how you can unlink a mobile number.

A mobile number or email address that is already linked to an account cannot be linked to another account within the same bank but you can still link it to an account in another bank or e-wallet.

Email addresses and mobile numbers registered by fraudsters will need to pass through the bank or e-wallet’s Know Your Customer (KYC ) process and validation. Also, anyone who tries to send money to this number or email address will initially see the fraudster’s first name and first letter of his last name as the owner which shall alert the sender that the recipient is invalid.

None. Each bank or e-wallet issuer regularly reviews this feature to see if it conforms to standards and puts security controls in place to secure your account.

Mobile numbers and email addresses are easier to remember. This minimizes the possibility of errors in keying in an account number thus, you are assured that the money goes to the correct recipient’s account.

Click here to view if the bank or e-wallet allows sending to a mobile number or email address via InstaPay

Kindly confirm first with the recipient if his mobile number or email address is linked to his bank account.  Also, your mobile banking app will initially display parts of the recipient’s name for your confirmation, “Example: Transfer to Juan D.”. Once you confirm and accept this, only then will your money transfer proceed.

Your bank or e-wallet app will display a digital receipt to confirm if the money transfer was successful. You can also check with the recipient if he received the money.

As a sending customer, you will still select the destination bank or e-wallet together with the mobile number or email address. If the mobile number or email address is linked to the destination account, the recipient’s name will be shown for your confirmation.

The app will show the partial name of the person whose account the email address or mobile number is linked to. You will then know that the recipient is incorrect and that you should not proceed with the transfer. Call your bank or e-wallet if you made a mistake in confirming the transaction.

This may or may not be required by your bank or e-wallet.

A QR code (short for “Quick Response code”) is a 2-dimensional image-based bar code capable of holding large amounts of data. QR codes store data using patterns of black dots and white spaces, arranged in a square grid. It can be read by a smartphone QR scanner or mobile device that is equipped with a bar-code reader.  

When personal and financial data are stored in it, a QR code can be used to send and receive money such as payment transactions. A recipient of the funds shows his /her QR code to the payer or sender who will scan the code to initiate the transaction. 

QR Ph is the Philippines’ QR code standard based on the Europay-Mastercard-VISA (EMV) standard, a global standard for secure payments. It gives customers of participating banks and non-bank electronic money issuers (EMI) a quick and safe method to pay, transfer to and receive funds from other bank and e-money accounts in the Philippines. QR Ph is approved by the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

QR Ph was developed to standardize the use of QR codes in the Philippines. It allows a common QR code to be scanned and interpreted by any participating bank or e-wallet mobile app and used for fund transfers and payments. QR Ph interconnects the QR codes of participating banks and non-bank e-money issuers much like how the ATMs of different banks are interconnected. Through QR Ph, a depositor of Bank A can use his bank’s mobile app to scan the QR Ph code of a person or merchant whose account is with Bank B or e-wallet Z to transfer money and vice versa. 

Since 2019, QR Ph has been used for person-to-person money transfers through InstaPay QR.  Now it can be used also for payment of goods and services of formal and informal merchants or sellers, whether in physical stores or online.  Soon, it can be used as well as for payment of bills. 

InstaPay is a digital payment service that allows the transfer of money between accounts in different banks and e-wallets. Money can be sent at any time and is received in real-time. InstaPay QR follows the QR Ph standard.

InstaPay QR offers you added convenience, speed, and security.

• Convenience– You can now pay at more business establishments. Before QR Ph, you could pay via QR only at the stores that display the QR code of your bank or e-wallet. With QR Ph, you can pay at any store displaying the QR Ph code regardless of bank or e-wallet.
• Speed– No need to count cash or bring out and swipe a credit card and sign a charge slip. No need to type your payee’s account number. 
• Security– The risk of loss or theft when bringing large amounts of cash is eliminated. Moreover, QR Ph follows strict global security standards to protect your transaction. 
• Lower risk of infection – By not handling cash, you lessen the risk of virus or bacterial contamination.

No. InstaPay does not have a stand-alone mobile app. It is part of your bank’s mobile app or your e-wallet.

Customers of partner banks and e-wallets can pay using InstaPay QR.

List of partners

You will need:

1. a smartphone with a camera 
2. the mobile app of a participating bank or EMI downloaded on your smartphone
3. the QR Ph code of the business establishment and 
4. a reliable data/Internet connection. 

You can pay using InstaPay QR at over 32,000 business establishments enabled by participating banks and e-wallets. They display the QR Ph code. These are:

• Supermarkets
• Specialty stores (e.g., gadget shops, hardware stores, drug stores, travel agencies, bookstores, coffee shops)
• Department stores
• Restaurants
• Schools/Universities

• Fitness gyms, beauty and wellness shops
• Hotels and resorts
• Delivery service providers

It’s easy. Simply:

1. Open your bank app or e-wallet and choose Pay via QR.

• Scan the store or seller’s QR Ph code and if asked by the app, type the amount to be paid. 

• Check the details and approve the transaction.  

        You will receive a confirmation of your transaction.

The cashier or seller will receive your payment instantly. 

The cashier or seller will receive a text or in-app message that payment has been received.

This service is free for the customer as the business owner or seller will be the one to pay the bank or e-wallet provider for the service.

Generally, there is no limit on the transaction amount. However, your bank or e-wallet may set a limit for certain stores or sellers.

Please contact the bank where you maintain your account or your e-wallet provider.