BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is eyeing to use agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate parts of its lending process, its top official said.

“We are beginning a project where we are going to put our whole lending platform on AI and hopefully use agentic AI to service some of the loan approvals and loan processes,” BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.

Mr. Limcaoco said they aim to roll out the project’s initial phase before yearend.

“That’s maybe a one- or two-year project, but we will do it in phases, and we hope to get the first phase up by maybe this December,” he said.

Agentic AI uses “agents” for specific tasks with minimal human supervision. These systems can work autonomously and make decisions based on data, probability, and patterns learned from interactions.

The official said BPI has already been tapping various AI-driven tools, particularly for customer service.

Last month, BPI revamped its digital assistant BEA Chat using an AI-powered ChatGPT platform. The chatbot can now accommodate service requests in real time, assist users with self-service transactions, and forward complex concerns to live agents. It is accessible 24/7 via the bank’s website and Facebook page.

“We’ve used it (AI) in credit modeling, but if you’re talking about the latest wave of AI, which is large language models and generative AI, then we do have a tool today that’s being used by the team where we are working off a ChatGPT platform where we ingested all our policies, procedures, and products. That way, our team is able to query our huge database… and get a consistent answer that we give to clients. So, that’s one,” Mr. Limcaoco added.

“We’re now also beginning to test what I would call AI-driven voice bots,” he said.

BPI’s net income rose by 7.02% to P16.44 billion in the second quarter to bring its first-semester profit to P32.96 billion. — Katherine K. Chan

THE VALUE of transactions made via InstaPay and PESONet grew by 40.32% year on year at end-July, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Transactions coursed through the two automated clearing houses soared to P13.26 trillion in the first seven months from P9.45 trillion in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the volume of transactions done through InstaPay and PESONet more than doubled to 1.96 billion as of July from 786.16 million a year ago.

Broken down, the total value of InstaPay transactions reached P5.96 trillion in the seven-month period, up by 52.82% from P3.9 trillion the year earlier.

The volume of transactions done through InstaPay surged by 159.15% to 1.89 billion from 729.32 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, the value of transactions coursed through PESONet amounted to P7.3 trillion in the first seven months, jumping by 31.3% from P5.56 trillion a year ago.

The volume of transactions that went through the payment gateway rose by 16.52% year on year to 66.23 million from 56.84 million.

InstaPay and PESONet are automated clearing houses launched under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System framework.

InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is mostly used for remittances and e-commerce, while PESONet is mainly used for high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.

Analysts said the continued increase in InstaPay and PESONet transactions shows that more Filipinos are now using digital channels.

“It reflects the continued digital shift in financial behavior, driven by greater consumer trust in electronic payments, expanding merchant acceptance, and more inclusive onboarding by banks and e-wallets,” said John Paolo R. Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

“The… increase in InstaPay and PESONet transactions reflects the strong momentum of digitalization in the Philippines. This growth is driven by sustained adoption of e-wallets and mobile banking, the continued expansion of e-commerce, and government initiatives promoting financial inclusion. Businesses and consumers alike are embracing the convenience and security of real-time and high-value digital transfers, making these platforms integral to everyday transactions,” Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said.

Reinielle Matt M. Erece, economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc., added that the BSP’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for financial technologies (fintech) has also helped boost Filipinos’ acceptance of digital banking services.

“These efforts will greatly improve confidence in the use of fintech for payments, transactions, and investments,” he said.

“We may see stronger growth in the latter half as the holiday may greatly induce more household spending. Further, lower interest rates may start to translate to the rates offered by banks which will increase more spending; thus, these alternative payment instruments will become busier.”

Mr. Asuncion said transactions made via the two clearing houses could post steady growth for the rest of the year.

“The shift toward cashless payments has become structural, supported by the BSP’s digital payments roadmap and the increasing reliance on online platforms for both retail and business transactions. With economic activity picking up and digital infrastructure improving, these payment systems are well-positioned to sustain double-digit growth,” he said.

“Momentum is likely to continue in the second half of 2025 as digital adoption becomes more embedded in everyday economic activity. Continued improvements in internet access, mobile banking innovations, and the push for interoperability (via QR Ph and other initiatives) will reinforce this trend,” Mr. Rivera added.

The BSP wants digital payments to make up 60-70% of the total volume of retail payments by 2028 in line with the Philippine Development Plan.

The share of online payments in monthly retail transactions stood at 57.4% in terms of volume and 59% in value terms in 2024, according to the BSP’s 2024 Status of Digital Payments in the Philippines report. These are up from 52.8% and 55.3%, respectively, in 2023. — Katherine K. Chan