A party-list lawmaker on Thursday denounced what he called the “oppressive” increase in interbank automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawal fees that the country’s 58 million cardholders are set to shoulder starting April 7.
“The banks should use some of their excess capital to enlarge their ATM networks, instead of punishing cardholders with higher user fees to fund their expansion,” Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor, a member of the House Independent Bloc, said.
The banks now have plenty of surplus capital amid the decline in lending due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Defensor pointed out.
“In fact, one bank is so awash with capital, it is paying out a record P18 billion in special dividends to shareholders next month, even after setting aside P41 billion in reserves against potential bad loans,” Defensor said, without naming the bank.
“They clearly have the money to build up their ATM networks without having to add to the burden of cardholders who are already saddled with miscellaneous bank charges,” he said.
Banks are poised to simultaneously jack up their interbank ATM withdrawal fees – mostly to P18 per transaction – on April 7.
Most banks are currently charging only P10 to P11 per transaction, with no more than five exacting between P12 to P15.
Banks need the extra fee income to grow the national ATM network, which currently has only 21,762 terminals, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
Cardholders who want to avoid paying the higher fee can simply cancel the transaction and look for an adjacent terminal offering a lower charge, the industry group said.
“But in reality, users will have little or no choice because based on our survey, at least 10 of the biggest banks that dominate the national ATM network are already set to evenly impose the P18 fee,” Defensor said.