Photo from Agence-France Presse
(I have not been able to access this blog for the last four days, so I’m posting my entry for last Friday.)
It’s such a pain to withdraw money from ATM machines these days. The lines are always so long! Since I am such an OC and would only transact with my bank’s ATM, finding one always feels like Amazing Race, the Trinoma leg.
A very good friend tried to convince me it was a goofy idea to spend so many calories hunting for the right ATM machine to save up on bank fees. I’ve got all those flabs to think about, after all. I wouldn’t want them to lack nutrients nyahaha.
Seriously, I do get overboard sometimes when it comes to “financial” stuff. I mean, there I was waiting 20 minutes for my turn at the ATM machine when I charge so much more than P11 for 20 minutes of my time! Wasn’t that crazy?
There has to be the right balance, though. Efren Cruz, author of Pwede Na: The Pinoy Guide To Personal Finance wrote in his book that too many people take for granted the hidden fees and charges from banks. At P11 per transaction, if you use your ATM like a wallet and, say, withdraw money 20 times per month, that’s P220 in ATM charges per month and P2,640 per year. Add a little bit more and you could have bought shares in Philex Mining during its initial listing and tripled that amount by now. Or something like that.
Some banks charge P7 per transaction, some as high as P11. Bancnet members don’t charge anything for balance inquiries, but Megalink-member banks do. Citibank and HSBC don’t charge any ATM fees at all. Click on this link to see how your bank fares when it comes to service fees: Click here to read http://www.bsp.gov.ph/banking/servicefee.htm.
With uber beezee ATM machines these coming weeks, chances are higher for some networks to suffer from connection problems and you might get debited for money you didn’t enjoy. That’s not so hot, especially when you need money for the holidays. Report immediately to your bank’s hotline and if your bank does not immediately act on your complaint, be sure to report immediately to the BSP’s Financial Consumer Affairs Group. Here is their contact details:
Financial Consumer Affairs Group
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
10th Floor, Multistorey Building
Mabini, Manila
E-mail address: consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph
Telephone Nos.: Direct Line (+632) 523-3631 and
Trunkline (+632) 524-7011 local 2584
For more information on current issues and regulations relating to e-banking transactions please visit the
BSP’s official website
Also, beware of ATMs that look tampered with, shoulder-surfers in ATM lines (don’t be shy to shield the keypad with your hand or your body), have your card ready so you don’t have to fish around in your bag for your wallet and get distracted, do NOT leave your receipts behind and, most important and most obvious of all, do NOT give your PIN to someone else or ask your maid or driver to withdraw money for you.
You won’t believe how many intelligent people I know who do this all the time, although they know it’s definitely a dangerous thing to do. Read BSP’s complete warning here: Click here to read http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=109194.
Happy New Year!
April 15th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Bank overdraft fees are becoming absolutely ridiculous. On my site, we get 4-5 people a day complaining about being unfairly charged. Bank of America has just agreed to now charges up to 10 overdraft fees per day at $39 a pop. Considering how they re-order transactions to optimize their fees, this is going to seriously hurt even more customers. Its time to stand up against these policies and demand change.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Salve,
pareho tayo, naghahanap rin ako ng ATM ng bank ko rather than go to the nearest ATM of other banks..parang di ako comfortable sa ibang ATM..kung talagang no choice lang ako nag withdraw sa ibang ATMs, saka nga pag nagkaproblem mas madali kung sa bank mo..wala bang updated ATM fees sa website ng BSP? luma na kasi , i’m sure mas mataas na ngayon yata…Happy New Year! cheers!
January 4th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
That’s true, Salve! Cosumerism in the country is very weak. It’s about time for consumers to fight for their rights. If you notice, labels for US products usually says something like this “If you are not satisfied with our product, we will give you a refund.” The return policy is very good and implemented well. Nung namimili kami sa US, sabi ng kaibigan ko, “wag kana mag-isip billin mo na, pwede naman isoli pag nagbago isip mo.”
January 4th, 2008 at 6:57 am
nina, that’s terrible! in those months, the two banks have probably made money on your money. here, banks say they charge that minimal fee of P7 to P11 to discourage Filipinos who use their ATM machine like a wallet. that sounds to me like a lame excuse, but the thing is, people seem not to mind. you would think that with all these technology, we’ll be able to travel without having to bring much cash which is really a security issue. i also remember that during an interview with a top network company, they said banks need not have any “offline” moments if they invest in the right technology. more and more, i’m convinced that we should be working towards a more effective consumer advocate group here in the Philippines. what do you think?
January 4th, 2008 at 1:51 am
In another forum, we had an interesting discussion about bank fees, etc. I still have the same stand - I believe banks are robbing us with all the fees they are charging. Its good that here in Qatar, withdrawal and balance inquiry from any bank is FREE of charge.
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In the Phils, I always look for my bank’s ATM to make withdrawals; first, to save on charges and second, if something goes wrong (e.g., my account was debited but no money came out of the machine or my card was captured) it will be easier to sort out the problems.
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My husband made an international withdrawal from BPI during our vacation. The machine had problems, his account was debited but he didnt receive any money. Problem is he couldn’t make a balance inquiry from BPI so he didn’t have a clue if the account was debited or not. BPI told us we need to speak to our bank. When we came back to Qatar, our bank required us to submit some documents in order to process the claim. To cut the story short, my husband was able to recover his money after several months.
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We just had a short holiday in Oman. I went nuts when I found out I couldnt withdraw because my bank in Qatar has a network problem. I always bring enough cash except this time. Lesson learned: always bring enough cash for expected expenses and no excuses!