Advisory: Updates on BPI Credit Cards fees and charges effective February 1, 2024

The updated BPI Credit Cards Fees & Charges shall be effective February 1, 2024.

• The Foreign Transaction Service Fee will now additionally apply to two types of Philippine Peso transactions, at a rate of 1%:

1. Foreign currency transactions converted then billed in Philippine Peso at point-of-sale

An example of this scenario is when a foreign store / merchant asks if you’d prefer to be billed in Philippine Peso. This is encountered when travelling abroad or shopping online at Amazon or other e-commerce sites which use Paypal as mode of payment. Just like if the transaction was billed in the local currency, this transaction will incur the 1% Mastercard / Visa Assessment Fee.

Example: A purchase worth $100 from Amazon.com and Cardholder opted to pay in PHP at point of purchase. The Cardholder agreed to be charged the converted amount of PHP 5,500.00

Amount Billed = [Converted Amount] x [Foreign Transaction Service Fee in decimals + 1]

Amount Billed = PHP 5,500 x 1.01

Amount Billed = PHP 5,555

2. Transactions charged in Philippine Peso by a foreign acquirer at point-of-sale

At times, foreign merchants or services directly state their prices in Philippine Peso. However, since the transaction is processed by a foreign acquirer, the Mastercard / Visa Assessment Fee is still incurred. The most common merchants for this scenario are online subscription services or app stores like Netflix, Disney+, Airbnb, Apple and Google.

Example: A subscription fee worth PHP 450 from Netflix (Amount shown by the service is in PHP but the service uses a foreign acquirer)

Amount Billed = [Converted Amount] x [Foreign Transaction Service Fee in decimals + 1]

Amount Billed = PHP 450 x 1.01

Amount Billed = PHP 454.50

The amount that will be reflected in the Statement of Account for these transactions shall be inclusive of the 1% Fee.

• The Foreign Transaction Service Fee for transactions that are charged in a foreign currency, whether online or outside the Philippines, will continue to be billed in the current manner and will not be affected by this change.

The Foreign Transaction Service Fee of 1.85% consisting of 0.85% plus the Mastercard / Visa assessment fee of 1%, to the converted amount of foreign-denominated transactions, using the foreign exchange rate of Mastercard / Visa at the time the transaction is posted.

Examples: A purchase worth $100 from Target (USA)

Converted Amount = [Purchase Price] x [Mastercard/Visa Exchange Rate]

Amount Billed = [Converted Amount] x [Foreign Transaction Service Fee in decimals + 1]

Amount Billed = [$100 x PHP 55] x 1.0185

Amount Billed = PHP 5,601.75

Other Bank’s Foreign Transaction Service Fee for PHP currency transactions can range from 1% to 2%.

To compute BPI’s Foreign Transaction Service Fee, follow this formula:

 =  Purchase Amount in PHP (A) + Bank’s Foreign Transaction Service Fee (B)

 = 25,000 + (25,000 x 0.01) = 25,000 + 250 = Php 25,250

Other Banks’ Foreign Transaction Service Fee

=  Purchase Amount in PHP (A) + Bank’s Foreign Transaction Service Fee (B)

= 25,000 + (25,000 x 0.02) = 25,000 + 500 = Php 25,500

Difference or Amount Saved by using BPI Credit Cards:

= Php 25,500 – Php 25,250

= Php 250

Transactions converted to Philippine Peso at point of sale may contain additional foreign currency exchange fees charged by the merchant or its acquirer.

No. Only eligible credit card transactions made on February 1, 2024 onwards shall incur the applicable fee.