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SBV announces ATM transaction fees
Automatic teller machine (ATM) card owners will be charged fees when conducting internal ATM transactions from March 1, according to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).
Cash withdrawal fees will range from zero to VND1,000 (US$48 cents) a time. The maximum fee will be increased to VND2,000 at the beginning of 2014 and to VND3,000 in 2015.
Money transfers conducted at ATMs will cost up to VND15,000 and the maximum fee for inter-bank ATM cash withdrawals will be VND3,000.
Besides card issuance and annual fees, card owners will be charged from VND100-500 for a bank statement print-out of internal transactions and from VND300-800 for a printout of an inter-bank transaction.
Banks have been asked to submit card-service fees to the central bank 15 days before the application date and publicise the new fees to customers.
According to the SBV, cash withdrawal maximums must not be less than VND2 million, regardless of inter-bank or internal bank transactions.
ATM booths and customer care centres must be available 24/7 for customers and booths will not be allowed to run out of money for more than four working hours.
From September, all ATM booths must be equipped with cameras and equipment to stop card information being stolen.
Regulations on internal ATM transaction charges have drawn different responses from the public and experts.
A man from HCM City's Binh Tan District said he was not happy with the internal transaction charges because money in ATM cards attracted low interest rates.
Le Thi Nhan, an office worker in northern Ha Nam Province, said the charges would not mean much to those with high incomes, but would be a burden on workers with monthly wages of VND2-2.5 million.
According to Nguyen Huy Hiep, who works for a bank card centre, many customers might not agree with the internal transaction charges because the ATM systems do not operate smoothly and still create many problems, such as power cuts or lack of cash and even card retention.
However, banks had invested a huge amount of funds in installing and maintaining ATM booths and needed to collect fees to maintain the services, he added.
Do Thi Kim Hao from the Academy of Banks said the charges were reasonable and would help banks maintain and improve services.
Until recently, there have been no fees for internal ATM transactions. This was to attract customers and make them familiar with ATM conveniences.
"Customers will be willing to pay fees when they are aware of the convenience that ATM services offer," she told Viet Nam News.
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