Wednesday, 14 August 2019

Daily Tribune

House probes ATM fees

By Keith Galayag out that banks are already extracting uway too many
superfluous fees from depositors.n
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel has joined the These fees include the P300 to P500 monthly charge
call for a House inquiry into the looming fee increases slapped on accounts failing below the P10,000 to P25,000
from Automated Teller Machines (ATM) amid the Banko minimum monthly average daily balance and the dormancy
Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) lifting of the 20lSmoratorium levies on inactive accounts, according to Pimentel.
on ATM fee increases. Pimentel'urged the House committee on banks and
In a statement, Pimentel said he sees financial intermediaries to find out "exactly where these
no justification for banks to impose an ATM charges go.n
increase in charges in ATM interbank \ {1.\&at we know is that all sorts of 'fee income'
withdrawal transaction as he added now constitute a big chunk of the core earnings of
that the cash being withdrawn from banks, apart from net interest income and trading
ATM is money banks borrowed from gains," Pimentel said.
depositors. Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. recently filed
*Offhand, we see no justiffcation
. House Resolution 210 urging the House
for banks to impose ATM charges in committee on banks and financial
excess of the P10to P15 that they intermediaries to investigate the
are currently collecting per order of the BSP that allowed
single interbank withdrawal banks to adjust the fees that
transaction, considering that they charge for ATM services.
depositors are merely taking In the resolution, Campos
money that they lent to the said with the removal of the
bank,n Pimentel said. moratorium on ATM increases,
nThe existing P10 to P15 banks could charge as much as
'convenience fee' per withdrawal P15 to P30 or even higher per
seems minimal and acceptable. single interbank withdrawal.
However, they might become The BSP memorandum
tannoying fees' as soon as they .Lifting the Moratorium on
are increased,' he added. Automated Teller Machine Fees'
Pimentel further pointed PIMENTEL was issued on 19 July.

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