Banks scrap fees on inter-bank enquiries

Bank card holders will no longer have to pay for inter-bank information enquiries at ATMs from April 20, the China Banking Association said on Friday.

Its member banks, including most of the country's commercial banks, have agreed on the change and will adjust their operating systems accordingly, said Liu Zhangjun, the association's deputy director.

Bank of Communications, the country's fifth-largest lender, began charging holders of other banks' cards 0.3 yuan to check their accounts at its ATMs in May 2005.

Its Big Four counterparts followed suit, along with other banks, sparking hot debate as customers paid more without an improvement in services.

"Collecting fees for inter-bank ATM enquiries is normal market behavior for commercial banks to adapt to growing operating costs," Liu said.

He said the inter-bank service offers convenience for card holders, but takes up bank resources, pushing up costs.

But commercial banks agreed to offer the service free of charge after the market reacted unfavorably to the move.

"The decision to collect fees on inter-bank ATM enquiries was so sudden that it actually violated consumers' rights to know the details of the decision-making," Huang Xihuang, a National People's Congress (NPC) deputy from Guangdong Province, said in a motion last month.

Source: China Daily