A cardholder withdraws money from an ATM in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Recentsurges in transactions and withdrawal fees at a number of commercial banks wentagainst the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) initial policy roadmap for aseamlessly cashless society.
For the past few months, a number of joint stock banks have continuouslyincreased service charges, including SMS Banking fees, electronic transactionfees and interbank charges.
In their latest attempt to curb uncontrolled fee hikes, SBV was quoted by anumber of sources on Wednesday as having issued a decision prohibitingcommercial banks from raising such charges.
Said resolve is believed to be compensating for unreasonable increases inbanking charges at well-known banks such as Agribank, VietinBank, andVietcombank since the beginning of this year.
Representatives from these banks also confirmed they had received the SBV’sinstructions and would devise a concerete plan to stop raising handling chargesimmediately.
Agribank is set to increase cardholders’ withdrawal fees at the bank’s ATMs to 1,650VND (0.07 USD) from the previous 1,100 VND starting May 12. VietinBank alsoannounced a similar fee increase since May 5, with Vietcombank following suiton May 16.
Vietcombank also increased mobile banking charges from 8,800 VND to 11,000VND per month since March 1.
Dao Minh Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Bank Card Association, said that thehikes in banks’ service fees were "in accordance with internationalpractice" and "justified" to cover expenses necessary for theupkeep of ATMs.
Speaking at a recent banking conference organised by SBV, Tuan said that thecurrent estimated 7,000 to 10,000 VND transaction cost enforced by numerouscommercial banks across the country was reasonable, as it included all thenecessary costs from ATM maintenance to service, which he considered“inevitable”.
The increase in service fees was part of the banks’ overall plan to expandnon-interest income, besides regular credit loans, in the context of controlledcredit growth rates via SBV’s imposed quota of less than 20 percent annually,as opposed to banks’ average growth of 30 to 40 percent in 2018, Tuan added.
At the moment, banking charges are set under the SBV’s Circular 35.Accordingly, the maximum charge for cardholders per debit transaction is 3,000 VNDfor domestic debit cards from 2015 onwards. This is seen as the ceilingprice for most banks’ charges, which so far has yet been breached.
Nonetheless, commercial banks should focus on other services to offset losses,rather than increasing ATM charges, said Tuan.
Remaining banks such as ACB, VIB, Techcombank, or VPBank still maintain afree-of-charge money transfer between accounts at the same bank, withTechcombank going as far as keeping interbank transactions free as well.
On another note, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) announcedin January an adjustment plan to reduce domestic interbank transaction feesunder the SBV’s Directive No. 01.
Accordingly, for cash withdrawals at ATMs, NAPAS will aim for a fee reductionstarting March 1, with a maximum reduction of 150 VND per transaction, and itwill not collect ATM service fees from banks as of March 1, 2021.-VNA
For the past few months, a number of joint stock banks have continuouslyincreased service charges, including SMS Banking fees, electronic transactionfees and interbank charges.
In their latest attempt to curb uncontrolled fee hikes, SBV was quoted by anumber of sources on Wednesday as having issued a decision prohibitingcommercial banks from raising such charges.
Said resolve is believed to be compensating for unreasonable increases inbanking charges at well-known banks such as Agribank, VietinBank, andVietcombank since the beginning of this year.
Representatives from these banks also confirmed they had received the SBV’sinstructions and would devise a concerete plan to stop raising handling chargesimmediately.
Agribank is set to increase cardholders’ withdrawal fees at the bank’s ATMs to 1,650VND (0.07 USD) from the previous 1,100 VND starting May 12. VietinBank alsoannounced a similar fee increase since May 5, with Vietcombank following suiton May 16.
Vietcombank also increased mobile banking charges from 8,800 VND to 11,000VND per month since March 1.
Dao Minh Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Bank Card Association, said that thehikes in banks’ service fees were "in accordance with internationalpractice" and "justified" to cover expenses necessary for theupkeep of ATMs.
Speaking at a recent banking conference organised by SBV, Tuan said that thecurrent estimated 7,000 to 10,000 VND transaction cost enforced by numerouscommercial banks across the country was reasonable, as it included all thenecessary costs from ATM maintenance to service, which he considered“inevitable”.
The increase in service fees was part of the banks’ overall plan to expandnon-interest income, besides regular credit loans, in the context of controlledcredit growth rates via SBV’s imposed quota of less than 20 percent annually,as opposed to banks’ average growth of 30 to 40 percent in 2018, Tuan added.
At the moment, banking charges are set under the SBV’s Circular 35.Accordingly, the maximum charge for cardholders per debit transaction is 3,000 VNDfor domestic debit cards from 2015 onwards. This is seen as the ceilingprice for most banks’ charges, which so far has yet been breached.
Nonetheless, commercial banks should focus on other services to offset losses,rather than increasing ATM charges, said Tuan.
Remaining banks such as ACB, VIB, Techcombank, or VPBank still maintain afree-of-charge money transfer between accounts at the same bank, withTechcombank going as far as keeping interbank transactions free as well.
On another note, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) announcedin January an adjustment plan to reduce domestic interbank transaction feesunder the SBV’s Directive No. 01.
Accordingly, for cash withdrawals at ATMs, NAPAS will aim for a fee reductionstarting March 1, with a maximum reduction of 150 VND per transaction, and itwill not collect ATM service fees from banks as of March 1, 2021.-VNA
VNA
