hay naku, its true!

i have a metrobank atm (wala ako choice kasi payroll account), once upon a time,
i withdrew from bdo atm, to my surprise when i checked my account online,
there was a debit of almost 300 pesos.
that cirrus sh*t s*cks!
baket ka i-charge ng international fees, e nandito ka naman sa pinas nag-withdraw.
up to now, di ko pa rin ma-gets ang logic.
pede pa-explain baka me nagbabasa dito na taga-bangko, enlighten my ignorance.
most of us, may not notice this, pero imagine at least 100pesos ibawas sayo, pagpalagay na natin, may katulad kong gumawa nun, 10 pips in a day times 30 days, times 12 at least me 360k in a year si bangko (very conservative estimate ito ha), i wonder kung san sya napupunta? sana si metrobank magdagdag ng atm para di naman kami kawawa na babawasan ng lintik na charges ung savings namin!

In my case, I looked at my transactions online just recently. Then I saw a P200 service charge deducted from my payroll account. Unfortunately, it was not specifically mentioned where those charges came from. (Heck, I only transact with the branch where I opened my account and I still have charges!).
So I looked at my diary of expenses (lucky I have one) and realized that i made an over the counter withdrawal in my bank’s branch, once when their ATM is offline.
So I checked the BPI’s website, and what do I found out? They charge 200 for over the counter transactions (for ATM account).
I still have to check if they also charge for EPS transactions that are processed through other terminals, like BDO (when I shop at SM). I think they also do…

I hope that banks should be honest enough to say to the public what are those charges are. Kaya nawawala tiwala ng tao sa mga financial institutions kasi due to greediness.Tama si Obama, ang dahilan ng Wall Street fall is due to greed. Look at our local bank executives, ang gaganda ng buhay. Where do they get those perks di ba sa mga depositors? Sana napanood ng mga taga bangko ang interview ni Donald Trump sa CNN, para they will think about before giving bonuses to their ownselves.Hay buhay, kawawa naman tayong small depositors…sana we get a good share of their profits too!

I have known some people who were shocked by the charges of those Cirrus marked atm cards. It may be the same for those MC marked atm cards as well but I don’t have information on that. From what I know, this is how it goes:

We have 3 atm networks here right? That’s expressnet, bancnet and megalink. If you withdraw from a bancnet atm and your card is only good for expressnet, the system will instead use the CIRRUS gateway (given that your atm card is marked CIRRUS as well as the atm you’re withdrawing from) and thus you get charged that almost Php300 fee. Balance inquiries also get charged in these situations (around Php 150 i think).

That is why it is highly recommended that you only withdraw from your own bank’s atm.

Can we guys all contribute to list all the useless fees we get charged in different banks here? That would help us to save a great deal in our banking transactions.

@Jen-

It is in the Phil. labor code that companies should pay employee compensation in cash, or through other means that will be very convenient to the staff.

In your case, your company should have setup a payroll account with a bank that has an ATM at or very close to your work location.

Cirrus is an infrastructure network which certain banks use to connect their ATM’s. This is similar to Bancnet and Megalink. But if a bank is not affiliated to that network, they cannot use it for free. They have to pay for interchange fees.

Now, Cirrus is an international network and Metrobank is not affiliated with them. So Metrobank had to pay interchange fees (in US$) to Cirrus whenever they use their network, which the bank in turn pass to the customer (still in US$). And the bank still has the bragging rights of having so much available ATM’s nationwide. Same goes with Bancnet and Megalink but they are local infrastructure and charge only small fees, which you might not notice (in the P1 to P11 range).

As per Salve’s blog, “convenience has always been expensive.”

it’s a coincidence that i posted an entry about pay SSS contributions online in my blog just recently. No need to go to your bank or SSS branches for individual SSS members.

Banks now promote online banking to decongest their branches (it’s expensive to maintain branches)

Jen, you may have transacted at a time when BDO and Metrobank transactions were processed via Cirrus/Mastercard when BDO( ExpressNet) and Metrobank (BancNet) were not yet linked locally. Now they are connected, no problems now.

btw, I don’t work for a bank

@jen

dumaan kasi ang transaction mo thru their intl line hence nailagay sa category ng 300 petot fee assessment.

oo nga bakit ang daming charges sa bangko..

kagaya ng magpapa encash ka ng check - kunyari PNB ang check pero kailangan pumunta ka mismo dun sa PNB branch para wala charge…

ganun ba talaga?

i always withdraw from my bank (metrobank), as here in cebu thankfully almost all the major streets have a metrobank branch.

imagine my consternation when we went to makati (dyan sa may greenbelt area), only to find that the 2 or so metrobank atms in the vicinity were ALL OFFLINE!!! one is in the pldt bldg skywalk and the other is somewhere in glorietta. it was a weekend but shouldn’t banks stock their atms on weekends and make sure no technical glitches occur as much as possible?

i hate losing Php 12/transaction! Banks don’t give that much interest to you in a month unless you have a huge deposit with them!

@paetechie: Thanks for the tip. It’s great to know people can pay SSS contributions online — but only if they have an account with a Bancnet-affiliated bank. So that means I still have to go and pay over the counter.

@ paetechie

so, ibig sabihin, kapag nag-withdraw na ko sa bdo using my metrobank card, di na sya 300 pesos, 10 pesos nalang?

hay, ayoko na i-try. ilang kilong bigas na rin yun noh. nyahaha

saka, tama ka g! they don’t give super duper laking interest tapos laki ng charges nila.

sana merong nagbabasa na taga-metrobank dito noh, pansinin nyo kapag oras na ng sweldo kung ano ang pinakamahabang pila, palagi sa metrobank,
baket?kasi kulang sila sa atm machines!
di ko alam kung sadya ba yun na konti para mapilitan yung iba na mag-withdraw sa ibang bank para me “charge” at me kita pa sila.
di ko rin alam kung coincidence lang rin,
baket tuwing sweldo season, i am not only talking about 15-30 ha, pati yung 5-20, 10-25 at kung anu-ano pa, madalas offline ung atm machine. ang saya.

i also was charged P30 at UCPB Dumaguete branch for twice already that is why i went to SSS office personnaly to pay to escape from the bank fees. UCPB staff told me that, if you have an account with us then you are charged P30. That was I guess last year or the other year…I can’t remember anymore…. P30 is much for me… not only me who paid the amount i guess.

I guess they shouldn’t charged us….. i don’t know….

@Web,

the three networks (Bancnet, megalink, and expressnet) are now interconnected, your transaction should not be routed to international networks of Cirrus or Plus. This happened also to a friend of mine when she showed me she can withdraw using Metrobank card at a BDO atm. Told her to check her statement later. Only then she believed me.

as for the charges, I have a post about atm fees that you may be interested in. I’m looking for other charges though particularly for over the counter, things your bank charges you if you need access to your OWN money

Why do banks have different policies regarding deposits to their provincial branches? BPI previously charges P100 but not anymore. UCPB previously dont but now charges P100. Metrobank charges P50.. Is that how much it costs to type the account number and add the deposited amount? It doesn’t involve actual transfer of money because it’s done electronically. It should be FREE for all banks irregardless of branches.

To those people out there who are using Bank’s facility for payment should be cautious. I worked in the bank for so many years both local and abroad. I would say that banks in the Philippines are more greedy. Most or if not all transactions you have engaged are being charged. Starting from balance inquiry on the ATM, statement request, inactive account etc.. Banks should given a chance, they will siphoned all your balance. I think the culture of every country count most. Here in Saudi Arabia, nothing have been charged for any transactions you made. Even if you left 10 Saudi Riyals for the past 10 years, it will remain the same amount. It is sad that in the Philippines most or if not all business companies have the culture of greediness. Presently, it is evidenced by the continuous high prices of gasoline inspite of continous lowering of its cost in the world market at about less than $80. Dapat mag-rally na ang lahat na mga tao against those oil companies.

The same is true to credit card fees, specifically the renewal fees they collect between P1,200 to 1,500 to get your renewal for another year. Why do you have to pay this amount when all you have to do is terminate the expiring card and get another card from a card company that offers waived fees for the first year.

I think banks are not blind to this, however if one is not cautious to their card statements they end up paying these fees.

I agree with all the comments that our bank in the Philippines are very very greedy, imagine charging you for a hefty amount when you are remitting for your salary from abroad, why the hell you are being charged to put money in your account, shouldn’t they be happy that you deposited a certain amount in your account? The Bangko Central should take action against these greediness of our banks.

this is the same reason why i no longer keep my money on the bank.

banks are making business out of your business. and what do you get? exorbitant fees that we shouldn’t be paying in the first place.

it’s about time that consumers show their power over these greedy banks.

Just recently, I learned that HSBSC dont charge for remittances. They only charge when you transfer from HSBC, but receiving is free. Lipat ko nga yung account ko from BPI (charges $30+ per receipt) to HSBC. In my accounting, I can save around P18k in 6 months time or P36k in a year time. Woah! Ilang months namin na rent yun ah.

but where do you place your emer funds or cash reserves epalnes?

7of9, i totally agree with you.

when renewal fees come around, i ask for waiver of fees! and the agents usually give you the run-around that you have to request with so and so facility (say manila, instead of cebu where i live). tapos mga 1 week pa ang approval if ever. huh? marami ba nagre-request ng ganyan?

i also experienced that they suggested another credit card product they had that does not charge membership fees but doesn’t give you points (to which i replied, i am only using credit cards for the points) and not telling you that this card has a higher interest rate!!!!

you know what makes agents heed your request? asking for your total charges and saying you’re gonna pay them all and have your card cut!!! that gets their attention!

I have a good experience with HSBC. I am living here in Bahrain, and have not been using my credit card for 2 months. When I checked my e-account, I was charged for an Annual Fee, interest charge for not paying the annual fee on time and others…(i forgot the other charges). I emailed them that I plan to cancel my credit card, and I was promptly replied that they will remove all the charges and I was informed that I can still use my card for free annual membership. All other charges are cancelled as well.
So far, I am satisfied…

I once commented in another forum that “I feel banks are robbing us through all these fees” and of course some bank defender reacted, which I won’t elaborate na. I’m glad that many people are also with me with regard to these charges.

Anyways, I reallly think banks are robbing us. Just imagine, they charge P1 for every balance inquiry if your ATM is from another bank. P1 is nothing but if you multiply it by the millions of ATM users, it’s a lot of money.

With regard to SSS payments, I hope there’s a better way to pay it. I am an OFW and a voluntary SSS member. There is an SSS office here but they do not accept payments. I send my contribution through remittance centers – that means I pay $4 remittance fee every time I send my contribution. In the past, my husband and I are able to send our contribution in a single remittance so that gives us $4 savings. Then, to further save some $, I pay quarterly. But sending of combined contribution is not allowed anymore. So I have to send our payments separately. Perhaps $4 isn’t much but if I will pay monthly, it will cost us $96 per year for remittance fees.

To avoid these fees, I thought of making Auto Debit Arrangement (ADA) from my BPI account. So I went to SSS office in Bataan to apply for ADA. After the Q and A with the SSS Officer, I found out they cannot process my application because my BPI account is in Manila and they cannot verify a Manila account. They told me to submit the completed application in Manila. With all the computerization thing, hindi pa pala centralized ang transactions nila? And I can only set-up ADA for my SSS payments and not my husband’s.

Dahil maiksi lang bakasyon ko, hindi ko na naasikaso. Tapos nakalimutan ko bayaran yong SSS ko last month. Ngayon, parang ayaw ko na i-continue. Sobrang inconvenient kasi. I don’t undertand why it has to be very complicated. It’s good that you can pay SSS through bancnet – problem is my account is in BPI and BDO and I don’t want to open another account in a Bancnet-member bank.

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