VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks have been making fat profits from ATM services, but they have decided to collect fees from inner-network transactions as well.



Banks have finally obtained the thing they want – the permission from the State Bank to collect fees on very transaction on auto telling machines (ATMs). A circular has been issued by the central bank stipulates that from March 1, 2013, banks would be allowed to charges on the ATM transactions.

As soon as the circular was issued, card holders have called on to “boycott” banks’ ATM services.

Nguyen Tien Nghia, an office worker, said on VnExpress that he would come directly to bank branches to ask for the money withdrawal, while he would not make transactions with ATMs to avoid fees.

Members of social networks have also expressed their opposition against the bank’s decision. Nickname binbinxxx wrote that from March 1, 2013, she would work with bank officers on cash withdrawal instead of making transactions through ATMs, so as to “create more jobs for bank officers.”

Nickname layla, applauding the opinion, said that if all the card holders boycott the ATM service, commercial banks would have to compromise and exempt fees to attract customers back.

Dieu Linh, a worker in the Nam Thang Long Industrial Zone said that she would prefer receiving salaries directly from the enterprise’s cashier. “My monthly pay is modest just 2.9 million dong a month. If I have to pay so many kinds of fees to withdraw money, I’d rather withdraw money once a month and leave my account empty,” Linh said.

“Banks should think of collecting fees from the enterprises which pay money to us, instead of the poor workers,” she added.

Under the new decision, card holders have to pay 1000 dong for every transaction on ATM, and another 1,000 dong for balance inquiries and statement printing.

A finance expert said that most of the workers in industrial zones have modest income of 2-3 million dong a month, while they only withdraw 100,000 or 200,000 dong each time to cover their basic needs. Therefore, if they make transactions many times, the total fees they have to pay would be relatively high.

Tam, a retired worker, commented that commercial banks should think of collecting fees only when they can provide a lot of associated services. Meanwhile, ATMs have been mainly serving as the machines which provide cash to people.

Doanh Nhan Saigon newspaper, which has counted on the kinds of fees card holders have to pay to banks, has come to a conclusion that at present, when banks still do not charge inner-network transactions, card holders have to bear a lot of kinds of fees already.

These include the inter-network cash withdrawal fees, remittance fee and the fee for making payment for services and goods. Besides, they also have to pay the PIN granting fee, checking fee and the fee to regain cards if the cards are swallowed by ATMs.

For example, a Fast Access card holder has to pay 100,000 dong in the fee for the first issuance, 50,000-100,000 dong for the issuance of new cards to replace expired cards, 200,000 dong for fast issuance service (if demanded by customers), 50,000 dong in annual fee, 30,000 dong in PIN granting for the second and subsequent times, and some other kinds of fees.

All the above said fees do not include the 10 percent VAT.

Compiled by C. V