BPI eyes P18 per interbank ATM transaction fee

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) plans to apply for an P18 interbank ATM transaction fee before the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

This would be P18 for each interbank automated teller machine (ATM) transaction.  It compares with the bank’s earlier proposal of P20 per transaction.

“Magsa-submit ulit kami—P18 to be in sync na with everybody. There are only two big banks left (that have not yet been approved)—BDO (Unibank Inc.) and us,” BPI chief digital officer Noel Santiago said in an interview in Makati City on Tuesday.

Once approved, non-BPI clients will have to pay P18 per transaction using any BPI-owned ATM.

BPI clients will not be charged for using the bank’s ATM.

“BPI clients will continue to use our ATMs for free,” Santiago noted in a separate message to GMA News Online.

“While our initial proposal of P20 per transaction for non-BPI clients is still under review, we plan to submit next week a revised proposal of P18 fee instead, to manage the cost of operating and maintaining the machines,” he said.

“In any case, we are committed to comply with the BSP guidelines regarding this matter,” he added.

The Bangko Sentral in August said it received applications from less than 10 banks to impose higher interbank ATM fees.

Central bank Memorandum 2019-020 lifted the moratorium on ATM fee adjustments imposed on September 27, 2013, allowing banks to recover costs in maintaining ATMs.

Last month, the BSP approvedthe requests of five banks to adjust interbank ATM transcation fees.

Santiago noted that BPI earlier submitted an application for a P20 interbank ATM fee, but since the BSP has yet to decide on it, the Ayala-led lender will file a new application for P18, saying the fee is the “sweet spot.”

“Hinihintay sana namin i-reject ‘yung P20 namin so we can go back with P18. Ang tagal na namin naghihintay. Sabi namin instead na maghitnay, kami na mago-offer. Kung P18 lang din ‘yung sweet spot, P18, matapos na,” he said.

"Nakita naman lahat ng bangko, everybody who applied, everybody who went above P18 got rejected. The only amount that’s being approved is P18, so we believe that if we go with P18, it will be accepted,” Santiago added.

BPI will likely implement  the new ATM transaction fee in the first quarter of 2020 as the entire Philippine banking system will still have to adjust to the changes.

“Big bang ‘yun, so we expect with bancnet, siguro mga Q1 2020. Imaginin mo if every bank would price differently?” Santiago noted.

On average, interbank ATM fees are P13 per transaction—ranging  from a low of P11 and a high of P15—Vicente de Villa III, central bank’s Financial Technology Subsector officer-in-charge said earlier. —VDS, GMA News