Short answer
InstaPay and PESONet are the two automated clearing houses under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ National Retail Payment System. InstaPay clears in real time, around the clock, under a per-transaction ceiling; PESONet clears in batches on banking days and is not bound by the same ceiling, which makes it the rail for payroll and bulk supplier payments.
Also called: InstaPay, PESONet, National Retail Payment System
The distinction shows up in software as a timing assumption. Money arriving over InstaPay can plausibly confirm an order while the shopper is still on the page; money arriving over PESONet cannot, because the batch has not cleared yet. Any checkout offering direct bank transfer therefore needs a pending state that survives the customer closing the tab, and a confirmation that comes from the bank or gateway rather than from an uploaded screenshot.
On the outbound side, a store paying suppliers or refunding a batch of customers is usually better served by PESONet for scheduled bulk movements and InstaPay for the urgent single payment. Fees and ceilings on both rails are set by each participating institution and revised over time, so treat the current figures as something to confirm with your bank rather than something to hard-code into a checkout or quote in customer-facing copy.
Common questions
Which rail does a refund go out on?
It depends on urgency and size. A single customer refund that needs to land immediately suits InstaPay, subject to its per-transaction ceiling. A scheduled run of refunds, or one large enough to exceed that ceiling, suits PESONet and clears on banking days. Confirm current ceilings with the sending bank before committing to a policy.
Related terms
Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is the service that carries a customer’s payment details from a checkout to the institutions that authorise and settle the money — card networks, banks, e-wallets.
Xendit
Xendit is a Southeast Asian payment infrastructure provider operating in the Philippines and neighbouring markets, offering one API for cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, virtual accounts, over-the-counter payments and outbound disbursements.
GCash
GCash is a Philippine mobile wallet operated by G-Xchange, Inc.
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