Wise Secures Direct Access to the Philippines’ InstaPay

Wise, the global tech company transforming international money transfers, has secured direct access to InstaPay, the Philippines’ real-time payment system, and can now directly settle through PhilPaSS Plus, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) real-time gross payment system.

For 14 years, Wise has been pioneering an alternative to traditional correspondent banking. With over 65 licenses worldwide and now six direct connections to domestic payment systems, Wise enables over 63% of its transactions to complete instantly (in under 20 seconds) at an average fee of 0.62%.

This direct connection to InstaPay will enhance the cross-border payment experience for Wise’s nearly 13 million customers and many more users of global banks and financial institutions, like Bank Mandiri, that use Wise’s platform for international payments. Key benefits include:

• Instant transactions up to 50,000 PHP: Customers of Wise and its platform partners can now send up to 50,000 PHP to the Philippines instantly from 28 currencies. For larger amounts, while not processed via InstaPay, 94% of transactions arrive within 24 hours.
• Fast, convenient withdrawals: Wise users in the Philippines transferring funds to local banks or e-wallets will see the money delivered in under 20 seconds.
• Seamless top-ups for Wise accounts and cards: Filipino customers can fund their Wise accounts or cards quickly and affordably via bank transfers or e-wallets, enhancing accessibility to Wise’s competitive exchange rates and low fees.
• Enhanced service for Wise Platform partners: This new connection allows Wise Platform partners to offer faster, more reliable, and cost-effective payouts to the Philippines with high straight-through processing rates.

Wise has been progressively establishing direct connections to payment systems globally, beginning with the UK’s Faster Payment System (FPS) in 2018. This approach continued with direct access to payment networks in the EU in 2020, and in Singapore and Australia in 2021. Recently, Wise was also approved to connect to Japan’s Zengin system and gained a Payment Institution license for Brazil’s PIX system.

Areson Cuevas, Country Manager for Wise Philippines, shared, “Just six months after launching the Wise account and prepaid card here, we’re thrilled to directly connect to InstaPay and settle with PhilPaSS Plus. This achievement, following similar integrations worldwide, significantly advances our mission to make international payments faster, cheaper, and more convenient for our Filipino customers and Wise Platform partners.”