BPI defers Peso deposit, withdrawal fees to 2019

James Ryan Jonas

Not anymore this year, but in 2019. In an emailed statement, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) disclosed that they are postponing to next year the implementation of new fees affecting certain Peso cash and withdrawal transactions.

The said fees, announced last Monday, were supposed to take effect beginning September 1, 2018. BPI has now announced that the following Peso bank transactions will still adopt updated fees but the implementation will begin on January 2019 instead.

BPI transactions with updated fees beginning January 2019

  • Over-the-counter cash deposit from a branch in one region to an account in another region (Inter-region cash deposit) – P50.00 per deposit
  • Over-the-counter cash withdrawal for accounts with ATM card (any amount) – P100.00 per withdrawal
  • Over-the-counter inter-region cash withdrawal for accounts with Passbook – P100.00 per withdrawal

According to BPI, this move “will give our clients enough time to be more
familiar with our other existing Bank Anywhere facilities via our online and electronic channels.”

BPI reiterated, however, that the deposit fee for USD and other foreign currencies and for transactions other than Peso deposits and withdrawals will take effect on September 1, 2018 as originally announced.

The list of updated BPI transaction fees is as follows.

Updated BPI Transaction Fees

RankSchoolPassing RateNumber of PassersTotal Number of Takers
1San Pedro College, Davao City96%202209
2Universidad de Zamboanga, Zamboanga City63%234367
3Emilio Aguinaldo College in Manila, Manila60%164272

Here are some additional information about the new fees from the official BPI website:

“Why is BPI charging new fees?

We have not updated our fees for quite some time. We are just aligning with industry practice.

What are my other options if I don’t want to pay for the fees?

  • 1. You may use our electronic channels to do cash withdrawals and deposits for free. We have 2,000+ ATMs and 700+ cash acceptance machines (CAMs) nationwide.
  • 2. You may download and print your own statement of account for your deposit or investment accounts, or your credit card, from BPI online, www.bpiexpressonline.com. All you need to do is enroll your accounts if you have not done so.
  • 3. You may opt to change your branch of account if your branch of account is not the same branch where you transact most often.
  • 4. You may opt to have your daily withdrawal limit of your ATM account increased.

What happens if BPI self-service channels are offline or down or unavailable or under maintenance?

If the ATM or cash acceptance machines (CAM) machines of the branch where you are transacting in are offline, you may proceed to do the same transaction over the counter in the same branch and the fee will be waived.”

Source: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

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.