MANILA - Several banks, including the country's second-largest bank in terms of assets, will waive online transfer fees until the end of the year.

Metrobank said its clients can keep sending and buying online using Instapay and PESONet until Dec. 31 this year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas meanwhile announced that other banks will also be extending their waiver for fees involving Instapay and PESONet transactions until the end of the year.

From just 11 banks last August, the list has grown to 31 banks as of Wednesday, the BSP said.

Several large banks earlier announced that they will resume collecting Instapay and PESONet fees on Oct. 1.

Banks waived these fees since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns in March to encourage clients to use electronic banking channels instead of visiting bank branches. This was seen as a measure to help check the spread of COVID-19.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said digital transactions grew exponentially during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

InstaPay-related transactions reached 29.5 million with total value of P141.2 billion as of end-August, representing 312.2 percent growth in volume and 206 percent in value compared to the end-March 2020 level, the BSP said.

PESONet transactions reached 2.7 million with total value of P252.9 billion, BSP said, representing about 120 percent growth in volume and 70 percent in value, respectively from the baseline end-March 2020 level.