Economy

Association defends fee hike on ATM withdrawals

By Nie Ligao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-27 14:01

The recent fee hike on withdrawing cash from other banks' ATMs was legitimate, said the China Banking Association quoted by Xinhuanet.com.

The banks, including the big four state-owned banks, decided to double the withdrawal fees from the former two yuan per time to four yuan last weekend.

But the big four banks, the Construction Bank of China, the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, still keep the fees unchanged in Beijing, Shanghai and some other cities at present.

Some customers argued the fees were too high to bear and the adjustment was not warranted.

The withdrawal fees were influenced by the market and the headquarters of commercial banks had the right to make standard changes according to their own conditions, the China Banking Association explained.

"The upmost standard of the withdrawal fees set in the Bank of China is four yuan in 2006 according to the related banking service regulations," a staff member with the Bank of China said.

Guo Tianyong, a scholar with the Chinese Banking Study center, said, "The accurate discussion and public price hearing are the key points to the fees hike."

"The analysis and evaluation from the watchdog agencies of the banks or a third party without related profit are more convincing than the banking association to explain the fees changes," Guo added.

The banking industry has frequently been under the spotlight following a public outcry over a series of fee hikes including charging for counting small banknotes or for register of a lost deposit book.