Tech CEO warns zero-fee push may weaken competition, limit consumer choice

• IN PHOTO: TraXion Tech CEO Ann Cuisia (Photo courtesy of Ann Cuisia)

A nationwide push for zero-fee fund transfers could weaken competition and reduce consumer choices if smaller financial service providers are pressured to match offers that only large institutions can sustain, a technology company executive warned.

Ann Cuisia, CEO of TraXion Tech, said maintaining a healthy mix of banks, electronic money issuers (EMIs), e-wallets, and remittance companies is essential to keeping transaction costs low and services competitive.

“The real lesson here: what protects consumers isn’t one company’s low price. It’s how many real choices they have,” Cuisia said.

She recalled that sending money previously required consumers to travel to a bank branch or remittance center, adding transportation costs and hours spent waiting in line. The rise of e-wallets and smaller digital finance companies allowed users to complete the same transaction through their phones at a lower cost.

Cuisia said the decrease in costs was driven not by the generosity of a single institution but by competition among companies seeking to provide more affordable and convenient services.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), through Memorandum No. M-2026-025, lifted the moratorium on increases in InstaPay and PESONet transaction fees alongside the implementation of Circular No. 1238.

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The circular introduced a pricing framework intended to ensure that electronic payment fees are reasonable, transparent, and based on the actual cost of providing the service.

Cuisia welcomed the BSP’s approach but stressed that the policy did not require all electronic fund transfers to become free.

“It never required fees to drop to zero. It simply asked that fees reflect what it actually costs to move money safely,” she said.

Several major banks have since waived transfer charges for their customers. While these initiatives provide immediate benefits, Cuisia said they could also pressure smaller providers to match pricing that may be sustainable only for larger and more diversified financial institutions.

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She explained that banks and EMIs operate under different business models. Banks can generate revenue from deposits and lending, allowing them to subsidize certain services. EMIs, meanwhile, mainly facilitate the movement of funds and cannot lend out the money passing through their platforms.

“A free transaction today can mean fewer companies competing for your business tomorrow, and fewer competitors usually means less pressure on anyone to keep improving,” Cuisia said.

She warned that requiring all providers to match the zero-fee offers of large banks could weaken smaller companies, reduce competition, and eventually limit consumer choices.

Cuisia said a healthy mix of banks, EMIs, and other financial service providers remains important because competition has historically pushed companies to lower costs and improve their services.

She also cautioned against presenting zero fees during major policy announcements, including the State of the Nation Address, as an industry-wide standard that all financial providers should be expected to follow.

Such a move, she said, could overlook the differences between banks and EMIs and unintentionally suggest that only providers capable of absorbing transfer costs should remain in the market.

Cuisia said consultations between the BSP and financial industry players should be allowed to continue to help regulators balance lower costs with competition, innovation, and the sustainability of service providers.

“Real value for Filipino consumers was never about one free transaction. It’s always been about how many companies are still in the race to serve you,” she said.