What are the BSP caps on credit-card interest and cash-advance fees?

BSP Circular No. 1165 sets three specific ceilings for credit cards issued by banks and other covered credit-card issuers. The figures apply to credit-card receivables; they are not a general cap for every kind of consumer loan.

The three ceilings

For regular credit-card transactions, the interest or finance charge may not exceed 36% a year. For credit-card installment loans, the monthly add-on rate may not exceed 1%. For a credit-card cash advance, the issuer may charge the applicable interest plus a processing fee of no more than PHP 200 per transaction; the circular says no other cash-advance charge or fee may be collected.

These are maximums, not the price every issuer must charge. The actual rate can be lower, and the statement or agreement still matters because a ceiling does not by itself show the balance, billing period, payment allocation or total amount due. The circular also says the ceilings are subject to BSP review every six months.

Which charges this answer covers

The 36% figure concerns interest or finance charges on credit-card transactions. The 1% monthly add-on figure concerns credit-card installment loans. The PHP 200 figure concerns the processing fee for each credit-card cash advance. This page does not treat those numbers as caps for personal loans, online lending platforms, late-payment charges or unrelated service fees.

Circular No. 1165 was issued on 19 January 2023, published on 26 January 2023 and took effect on 10 February 2023. BSP's current IRLD FAQ still cites the circular for the installment and cash-advance limits, and no later BSP issuance replacing these ceilings was located. Because the circular requires periodic review, the live BSP issuance should be checked again before relying on the figures for a future transaction.