LABOR group, Defend Jobs Philippines yesterday called the recent ruling of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approving higher interbank ATM transaction fees as “untimely, anti-workers and insensitive.”
On Wednesday, BSP approved the “acquirer-based ATM charging” of as high as P18 per transaction and P2 charge per balance inquiry if these were made from different banks of the ATM user.
BDO, Metrobank and BPI already issued advisories that ATM cards issued by other banks will be charged P18 per withdrawal and P2 per balance inquiry, while Landbank will impose P10 per interbank withdrawal and P1 per interbank balance inquiry.
“Amid the paradigm shift to cashless transactions in this time of the worsening state of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, a single centavo deduction to the hard-earned salaries of our Filipino workers will never be acceptable as this will mean slash on the already-poor state of our wages,” said Christian Lloyd Magsoy, Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson.
Magsoy also slammed the statement of the BSP that “the new interbank ATM fee system allows ATM owners to directly compete for business with one another by disclosing fees and offering lower charges than other ATMs in the vicinity.”
“BSP’s claim that their ruling on higher ATM interbank charges will mean competition among banks and will benefit consumers is a clear display of its insensitivity to the interests of our working people. Putting bank ‘competition’ over beyond the burdened shoulders of our workers is nothing but a disadvantage rather than a benefit,” added Magsoy.
Defend Jobs Philippines called on BSP officials to review and withdraw its ruling at the soonest time possible for the sake of our labor force who have been hardly-hit by quarantine restrictions, soaring prices and the pandemic.
