BDO to charge P2 withdrawal fee for every depositor's ATM withdrawal

**Bogeyman** · August 20th, 2012 04:48 PM

Totoo nga yung tagline nila: they find ways -- to make your life miserable.

Starting September 1, it will cost a BDO depositor P2 every time he/she withdraws his/her own money from any BDO terminal.

The new fee advisory was being flashed on the bank's 1,596 ATM-network as each terminal dispensed wads of cash for the duration of the four-day weekend.

The country's biggest bank, BDO is the first local bank to reintroduce the unpopular fee since the industry recoiled amid a storm of consumer protest more than a decade ago.

Since then, local banks, no matter the size, have always exempted their own depositors from any ATM fee so long as the withdrawal is made from the depositor's own bank ATM network.

But withdrawals made on other bank's ATMs are hit with P10-11 fee for every transaction.

Individual banks do not normally publish their depositor base or the number of transactions that their own home networks process each day.

But a rare glimpse of the magnitude of the potential windfall from such automated transactions may be gleaned from a yearend account by BancNet, the largest of the three ATM consortiums in the country. (BDO happens to be a Megalink member.)

BancNet chief operating officer Aristeo Zafra Jr. said a record 2.282 million "switched" transactions was recorded on the BancNet network last December 15.

Switched transactions, as defined by BancNet, are mostly withdrawals and balance inquiries done on ATMs other than the ATMs of the cardholder's bank. These are done not only by the consortium's own cardholders but also by cardholders of other networks such as Megalink and BPI-dominated ExpressNet.

December 15 happened to be payday for government offices and most private companies. It was also the same day, BancNet said, when most Christmas bonuses were distributed and credited into employee bank accounts.

"Withdrawals usually peak on the payday before Christmas on account of the fact that majority of ATM accounts are payroll accounts," Zafra said.

The volume on the Friday before Christmas, December 23 came very close to December 15, with 2.278 million switched transactions, followed by December 29, the payday before the New Year weekend which posted 2.083 million switched transactions.

BancNet said it had over 12 million ATM cardholders and 5,700 ATMs at end-2011, comprising 37.4 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of all cardholders and ATMs in the country.

At P2 each withdrawal multiplied by a modest two withdrawals a month, that could potentially translate to P48 million a month in extra income for the banks.

BDO so far has the most generous ceiling for ATM withdrawals for its own depositors, allowing up to P50,000 cash withdrawal a day at a maximum P25,000 for every ATM transaction.

COCKTALES | BDO imposes P2 fee for every depositor's ATM withdrawal - InterAksyon.com

**_Qwerty_** · August 20th, 2012 04:50 PM

pati yung payroll nila via cash card.. effective September daw yan.. nagbabalak na nga kami magpalit nang banko..

**vinj** · August 20th, 2012 05:02 PM

Tsk tsk...

Do i see an exodus of depositors?

They're not making money off interbank ATM transactions? I know a bank who's ATM network is income generating by being stringent with its ATM set-up locations and concentration on minimizing downtime, and keeping transaction speed up.

They can also do an Ayala by limiting or obscuring mall spots of competitor banks' ATMs and keeping BPI ATMs as the most visible.

**Bogeyman** · August 20th, 2012 05:18 PM

Their bank tellers probably have too much time on their hands, for BDO to practically force their depositors to rely on over-the-counter transactions. Eh kahit naman konti lang ang nakapila, ambabagal pa rin nila eh. Malas ko lang at BDO yung payroll ko.

**niky** · August 20th, 2012 05:25 PM

I already refused to open a working account there (I needed an account to accept interbranch payments) because of the interbranch transfer fee... now I'm even gladder I went BPI. The convenience of banking on weekends isn't something I'd pay an extra 2 bucks per transaction for.

This will make them some money, but it will also make people start to look seriously at other banks. You can EPS at SM with BPI, anyway, so I don't see the point of having an BDO ATM...