ELECTRONIC money transfers via PESONet and InstaPay reached over P5.37 trillion in the first seven months of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas disclosed Thursday.

It is 43 percent higher than the same period in 2021, the central bank said in a statement.

A total of 348 million PESONet and InstaPay transactions were recorded from January to July this year, up by 24 percent in the comparable period last year, the BSP said.

PESONet — an electronic fund transfer for above P50,000 — and InstaPay or the real time transfer for funds lower than P50,000 are automated clearing houses under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System.

For the first seven months, PESONet’s value of transaction grew 47 percent while volumes are up by 22 percent.

The central bank said these growths were mainly driven by state-run fund disbursements facilitated by the Development Bank of the Philippines.

In the same way, InstaPay’s value and volume grew by 37 percent and 25 percent, respectively, BSP data showed.

The BSP said internet banking, e-commerce, bills payment, and other low-value payments have driven the growth of InstaPay.

“These reported increases in PESONet and InstaPay support the BSP’s Digital Payment Transformation Roadmap,” the BSP said.

The central bank seeks to digitalize 50 percent of the total volume of transactions and onboard 70 percent of the adult population to the formal banking system by 2023.