ATM Withdrawal, Balance Inquiry Fees of Philippine banks

James Ryan Jonas

Do you know how much your bank is charging you whenever you use your automated teller machine (ATM) to make a withdrawal or balance inquiry in another bank’s ATM?

Be aware, because if you have no idea how much the fees are, they can eat up your total deposit balance.

Gone are the days when you can simply use your ATM in another bank’s machine for free. These days, withdrawal charges can be as high as P15.00 per transaction. Even a simple transaction such as balance inquiry is charged as high as P2.50 per use whenever you do it using another bank’s ATM.

ATM Withdrawal Fees

Clients of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), BPI Family Savings Bank, and Banco de Oro (BDO) Smart Money Card are charged the most for every withdrawal in another bank’s ATM. The fee charged to these depositors is P15.00 per withdrawal transaction.

The following banks, meanwhile, charge P12.00 for every withdrawal made in other banks’ ATM: Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), Union Bank of the Philippines, Malayan Bank, and Chinatrust.

These banks charge P11.00 per withdrawal transaction in other ATMs: BDO Unibank Debit Card, BDO Unibank Cash Card, Metrobank, Philippine National Bank (PNB), United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), Asia United Bank (AUB), Bank of Commerce, Maybank Philippines, and Robinsons Bank customers.

A P10.00 withdrawal charge is imposed by these banks when clients withdraw from other banks’ ATMs: Allied Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), EastWest Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Standard Chartered Bank, Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom), and Philippine Veterans Bank.

Only Citibank Philippines charges no fees to clients when they withdraw using other banks’ ATMs.

Balance Inquiry Fees

Even a simple balance inquiry transaction is charged up to P2.50 every time it is done using another bank’s ATM.

BDO Smart Money Card users are charged P2.50 for every balance inquiry made in a different ATM.

These banks charge P2.00 per balance inquiry transaction in another bank’s ATM: Asia United Bank, BDO Cash Card, BDO Debit Card, Chinatrust, Maybank, Metrobank, PSBank, Veterans Bank, Planters Bank, RCBC, Robinsons Bank, Unionbank, and UCPB.

A P1.00 balance inquiry fee, meanwhile, is charged by these banks: Allied Bank, Chinabank, DBP, East West Bank, Landbank, Malayan Bank, PBCom, Philippine Business Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sterling Bank.

The table below summarizes the withdrawal and balance inquiry fees charged by Philippine banks.

Withdrawal and Balance Inquiry Fees of Philippine Banks

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(Update September 2013): Here’s the updated table of Philippine ATM Service Fees after banks announced an increase in ATM transaction charges. As of September 26, however, the increased charges have been deferred following an order from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.)

Sources: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bank websites

James Ryan Jonas teaches business management, investments, and entrepreneurship at the University of the Philippines (UP). He is also the Executive Director of UP Provident Fund Inc., managing and investing P3.2 Billion ($56.4 Million) worth of retirement funds on behalf of thousands of UP employees.