BSP approves ATM fee adjustments of 5 banks

At least five local lenders have been given the go signal the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to adjust the transaction fees for using an automated teller machine (ATM), a central bank official said Monday.

The adjusted ATM transaction fees could be implemented starting next October.

In an interview with reporters in Taguig City, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said the central bank approved the applications over the past few days—both upward and downward adjustments of fees.

“I think meron nang mga na-approve. Meron din magde-decrease ... Ano pa lang, very few. I think less than ten,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the BusinessWorld Industry 4.0 Summit.

“If I’m not mistaken, mga total I think five. Napakakonti pa lang so far,” Fonacier added.

The central bank official declined to identify the banks, noting that the lenders are required to issue a public advisory before adjusting their respective ATM fees.

On July 19, 2019, the BSP released Memorandum 2019-020—lifting the September 27, 2013 moratorium on ATM fee adjustments.

It clarified that banks have no authority to adjust fees on their own as required by the regulatory framework covering ATM fees.

Less than 10 banks have applied for higher ATM fees, with the review process taking 20 banking days.

The increase in ATM fees is P3 per transaction on average from the average transaction fees of P11 to P15.

“Some of those na mga na-approve naman, very small amount. Ang range lang naman so far that I can remember is mga up to P3,” she said.

Fonacier noted, however, that some of the banks also plan to lower ATM fees to as low as P10 to P9 per transaction.

“‘Yun nga maganda sa tech, pagbi-bring down ng cost of transaction. Range is P11 to P15, something like that. May mga nagpo-propose ng P10 or P9 even, so may reduction. Very few pa lang,” she said.

Banks must first comply with the information dissemination standards before they can implement the fee adjustments.

“Meron kaming mga requirements when it comes to implementation. Before ‘yung full implementation nila, we have certain conditions that they must comply with before they can actually do a rollout,” she said.

The adjustments, Fonacier said, would have to be published first on the banks’ official website before implementation.

“Mga ganon, October (ang implementation). Depending din kasi on the rollout doon sa notices na nire-require namin, ‘yung communication plan,” Fonacier noted.

“They should provide us with the communication plan. It’s not just porket na-approve they can just roll it out. May mga certain requirements kami na they need to fulfill,” she added. —VDS, GMA News