BSP Encourages Banks to Waive Fees on Interbank ATM Transactions

April 27, 2020 – Banks are encouraged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to suspend fees on fund transfer services and interbank ATM Transactions.

Amid the current public health situation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BSP stresses the need for a unified action when it comes to the initiatives to help the public in this time of need.

BSP had earlier suspended fees for fund transfers via PESONet and InstaPay. Both are payment systems with participants from banks and non-bank financial institutions. For example, if a person sends money from a member bank to another person whose bank is also a participant, there will be no transfer fee to be collected.

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Still, not every bank is a member of both payment systems. As such the BSP is encouraging banks to also waive transfer fees for funds being transferred outside PESONet and InstaPay.

The BSP also encourages banks to waive interbank ATM transactions. While banks remain open, there is always that possibility that a person’s bank is not within their place of residence. With the current lockdown across cities and provinces, a person who wishes to withdraw money will opt to do it at the ATM of the nearest bank, which may not be where their accounts reside. Waiving interbank ATM transfer fees is one such action which the BSP thinks will uplift the public.

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The other reason is because the BSP already waived the fees for PHILPASS, which is the system (owned by the BSP) used by banks to settle interbank payment transactions. So if the use of this system is now free, the BSP urges the banks to “channel forward such temporary relief measure to the banking public”.

Read the BSP Memorandum here

This article is published on BitPinas: BSP Encourages Banks to Waive Fees on Interbank ATM Transactions