Tuesday, October 6, 2009

ATM Charges in the Philippines: BancNet, Megalink, Expressnet, Mastercard, Cirrus, Maestro, Visa, Plus, JCB, China Union Pay


Updated ATM charges per transaction in the Philippines:

Balance Inquiry Transaction Fee:

On-us/proprietary: Free
Interbank (switched by BancNet: P1
Megalink: P1 (see note below)
ExpressNet: None
Cirrus/Maestro: $1
Plus: $1

Banks who charge P2 balance inquiry fee: PNB, UnionBank, Bank of Commerce, One Network Bank, Equitable PCI Bank, Equitable Savings Bank, LBC Bank

ATM Cash Withdrawal Transaction Fee

On-us/proprietary: Free
Interbank (BancNet, Megalink, Expressnet): P8 to P12.50

Banks with highest charges: OMB (P12.50), UnionBank (P12), UCPB (P11), Bank of Commerce (P11), PNB (P11), UCPB (P11)

Banks with no charge: Citibank, Citibank Savings, HSBC

Cirrus/Maestro: $3.5
Plus: $3.0
(these rates apply also to ATM transactions abroad)

ENCASH ATM Cash Withdrawal: add P25 or P45 convenience fees on top of normal transaction charge (there is a warning screen for this)

Nationlink ATM Cash Withdrawal: add P20 convenience fees on top of normaltransaction charge (there is a warning screen for this)

Note there is a maximum amount per withdrawal for switched transactions of P10,000.00 via BancNet or Megalink. BPI recently lowered this to P5,000.00. For on-us/proprietary transactions, the issuing bank's set amount is applied.

Fund Transfers via ATM Fee

On-us/Proprietary (if available): Free
Interbank (BancNet) : P25 (real time credit)
Interbank (Megalink): P25 (next day credit)


* called IBFT by BancNet, short for Interbank Funds Transfer

Bills Payment via ATM Fee

This service is free to all cardholders. It's the biller institution who pays the processor the fees per transaction.

Cash Advance Fees

Using credit cards to withdraw cash on ATMs (funds subject also to interest rates)
VISA, Mastercard: P300 or 3% of amount whichever is higher
American Express (AMEX): 5% of cash advance or P500 whichever is higher
Diner's Club: 5% of cash advance amount or P250 whichever is higher

Many ATMs in the Philippines eg.g BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands), Metrobank and PSBank accept VISA/VISA Electron/Plus, Mastercard/Cirrus/Maestro where their logos are displayed

American Express is accepted at BPI ATMs

China Union Pay (CUP) cardholders can inquire balance and withdraw funds from BancNet ATMs plus shop using BancNet Point-of-Sale (POS) which is similar to BPI EPS and ECN. No information yet on the charges.

No update yet whether Japan's JCB will interconnect with a local ATM consortium.
Cirrus and Maestro are affiliated with MasterCard; Plus is a VISA affiliate.

Using your Philippine-issued ATM card abroad is only possible for Cirrus, Maestro, and Plus affiliated banks (e.g. BPI International for Cirrus/Maestro). Inquire at your own bank for details.

How to avoid ATM transaction Charges in the Philippines:

1. Transact only at your own bank's ATMs
2. Open an account at Citibank, Citibank Savings or other banks that do not charge ATM withdrawals and account balance inquiries to their cardholders.
3. Open an account at a bank with an ATM near your place.
4. Do not put your money in the bank, invest it some place else :P

Note that transaction charges can be thought of as convenience fees; you pay the charges instead of wasting your time and spending money on fares/gas going to your own bank's ATMs.

ExpressNet Member Banks (5):
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), BPI Family Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank, LBP), Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC), HSBC Savings

BancNet Member Banks (31):
Allied Bank, Asia United Bank (AUB), Banco Filipino, Banco San Juan, CentennialSavings Bank, China Banking Corporation (Chinabank), Chinatrust Bank, Citibank, N.A., Citibank Savings Bank, Citystate Savings Bank, East West Bank, Export and Industry Bank (Exportbank), Green Bank of Caraga, Malayan Bank, Manila Bank, Merchants Bank, Metrobank, Opportunity Microfinance Bank, Philtrust Bank, Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCOM), Postal Bank, PSBank, Quezon Capital Rural Bank (QCRB), Real Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), RCBC Savings Bank, Security Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank of Asia, Tong Yang Savings Bank, World Partners Bank

Megalink Member Banks:
AsiaTrust Bank, Banco de Oro (BDO), Pacific Ace Bank, Bank of Commerce, Philam Savings Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank (PNB), Equitable PCI Bank, Philippine Veterans Bank, Equitable Savings Bank, Premiere Development Bank, Insular Savings Bank, Prudential Bank, International Exchange Bank (iBank, now part of Unionbank), Queen City Development Bank, Keppel Bank Philippines, Robinsons Savings Bank, LBC Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines, Maybank Philippines, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), Pacific Ace Savings Bank

Nationlink Member Banks (A member of BancNet):
National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Kaunlaran Bank, Kaunlaran Rural Bank of Manaoag, Optimum Development Bank, Malasiqui Rural Bank, Community Rural Bank of Dapitan, Metro Ormoc Community Cooperative (OCCCI)

ENCASH Member Banks(A member of Megalink):
Rural Bank of FloridaBlanca, GM Bank, Bangko Kabayan, Rural Bank of Tiaong, Progressive Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Puerto Galera, Cantillan Bank, First Valley Bank, Rural Bank of Calasiao, Balai Isabel, GM Bank, Jose Panganiban Rural Bank,
Rural Bank of Nabua, G7 Bank

You may visit your bank's website for ATM locator service to know where to find ATMs in the Philippines. For example, in Boracay, there are ATMs by Metrobank, Allied Bank and BPI.

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