Every peso your product moves rides one of three rails. InstaPay carries small transfers in real time. PESONet carries large ones in batches. QR Ph puts both behind one code.
The rail decides how fast your customer sees money, how large a transfer can be, and when books close. Pick wrong and your cash-out promise breaks on a Sunday. Your product reaches all three through Payouts as a Service.
All three sit under the BSP’s National Retail Payment System framework, adopted in 2017. The rules below come from the BSP’s own FAQs and circulars, and from TNKR’s developer docs.
InstaPay: real time, any hour
InstaPay is a real-time credit transfer. Your customer sends, and the receiving bank or e-wallet credits the funds immediately.
| The rule | What it means for your product |
|---|---|
Per-transfer limit ₱50,000 per transaction. Since 29 July 2026, registered businesses can send up to ₱500,000. | On TNKR, ₱50,000 per transfer today. |
Hours 24/7, all year round, holidays included. | Cash-out can run on a Sunday night. |
Settlement Recipients are credited in real time. Banks settle with each other later, on a net basis, through the BSP’s PhilPaSSplus, which runs on weekdays. | Your customer sees funds at once. Plan your float for the gap before interbank settlement. |
Fees The sender’s institution sets the fee. Receiving is free. | Price cash-out knowing the recipient pays nothing. |
On TNKR, an InstaPay payout runs 24/7. Allow up to 20 minutes for its final status to post. See Payouts
PESONet: batches, same banking day
PESONet is a batch transfer. Instructions queue, then clear together at fixed times each banking day.
| The rule | What it means for your product |
|---|---|
Settlement cycles Three cycles a banking day, at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The 1:00 p.m. cycle started on 8 July 2024. | Miss a cycle and the transfer waits for the next one. |
Crediting Recipients are usually credited within two hours of their institution receiving the clearing advice. | Promise same day, not instant. |
Size Built for larger transfers. On TNKR, up to ₱10 million per transfer. | Route payroll, supplier and other large payouts here. |
Banking days A transfer started on a non-banking day processes on the next banking day. | A Friday-evening payout lands on Monday. |
On TNKR, a PESONet payout sent before 10:00 a.m. is credited by 1:00 p.m. Before 1:00 p.m., by 4:00 p.m. Before 4:00 p.m., by 7:00 p.m. See Payouts
QR Ph: one code, two uses
QR Ph is the national QR code standard, set by BSP Circular 1055 in 2019. One code works across participating banks and e-wallets.
Person to person. QR Ph transfers run over InstaPay, so InstaPay’s limit and sending fee apply.
Person to merchant. Customer payments settle through InstaPay. The customer pays no fee. The merchant’s institution may charge one.
On TNKR, accept QR Ph with a generated code at checkout, or a reusable static code in-store. See Payments
Which rail for which movement
| The movement | The rail, and why |
|---|---|
Wallet cash-out A customer withdraws to their bank or e-wallet, often at night or on weekends. | InstaPay. Real time, 24/7, up to ₱50,000. |
Payroll or supplier payout Scheduled, larger, often in bulk. | PESONet. Same banking day, built for larger amounts. |
Refund or marketplace payout Small, urgent, at any hour. | InstaPay. |
Checkout or in-store payment A customer scans and pays. | QR Ph, settled through InstaPay. |
On TNKR, one API sends on either rail. Every movement posts to the same double-entry ledger, so both rails reconcile in one place. See Wallets
Get started
Read documentation — see the transfer endpoints and each rail’s timing.
Talk to an expert — map your product’s movements to the right rail.
Frequently asked questions
Originally published