ATM: Service quality 'uneven' with contribution fee

(Baonghean) - Many ATM card holders are still not satisfied with the service quality of banks.

Off-net withdrawal fee 3,300 VND/transaction.

The province currently has 250 ATMs in operation, with a high density in Vinh City. On holidays and Tet, people often have to wait to withdraw money from ATMs, and sometimes cannot withdraw money.

The current ATM withdrawal fee at many "big" banks is 3,300 VND/transaction for off-network cards and 1,100 VND/transaction for on-network cards; showing that in this field, "these guys" are "losing" to a series of banks that have implemented free ATM withdrawals such as: VIB, TienPhong Bank, DongA Bank, BAOVIET Bank, SCB, SHB...

Female worker Nguyen Thi Van in Nam Cam Industrial Park (Nghi Loc) said that every month the company pays salary by card, although it is only over 3 million VND, but in a month she withdraws money 3 times to "save", so she also has to pay a lot of fees. Not to mention when withdrawing money, ATMs near the company always have to jostle each other, security is sometimes not guaranteed.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia in Nghi Phu commune (Vinh city) said: "ATMs of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietcombank have high withdrawal fees, but many ATMs do not have doors or keyboard covers, which is very unsafe." Not only do customers have to pay fees when withdrawing money, but customers also have to pay fees when using ATM cards to check balances, transfer money, print account statements, pay annual fees, and issue cards...

Customers transact at Vietcombank ATM. Photo: Viet Phuong

When withdrawing money from an ATM at some banks, the machine keeps asking if you want to pay the fee before saying “ok”, so busy customers have to do a few more steps when withdrawing money, which is very time-consuming, if they are not focused, they will press the wrong button, then have to press again. Some banks do not provide attentive service on Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hoa, a customer of VIB Bank, said: Although this bank does not charge fees, I went to withdraw money twice on Sunday afternoon and was unable to withdraw money. I had to go to BIDV Bank to withdraw money, but they charged a fee there.

According to Mr. Phan Duc Tien - Director of the Agricultural Bank of Nghe An, the Agricultural Bank of Nghe An Branch has 34 ATMs located in Vinh city and districts and towns. These machines serve 200,000 customers, with a daily withdrawal turnover of about 200 million VND. Currently, the bank is charging a fee of 1,000 VND/intra-network transaction and 3,300 VND/inter-network transaction. This fee is appropriate to improve the quality of ATM services, machine maintenance, and fund replenishment. The State Bank of Nghe An Branch also said: Currently, most commercial banks have collected ATM service fees, the fees and other fees related to the types of transactions are self-regulated by the commercial banks, some units only charge fees for transactions outside the system; some charge fees for both internal and external transactions...

Circular No. 35/2012 of the State Bank of Vietnam regulating domestic debit card service fees has allowed banks to collect cash withdrawal fees for domestic transactions. The applicable fee in 2013 is from 0 - 1,000 VND/transaction, from 0 - 2,000 VND/transaction in 2014 and from 0 - 3,000 VND/transaction from 2015 onwards.

However, it is worth mentioning that although fees are allowed, the quality of service has not satisfied customers.

Need to improve customer service quality

Discussing customer opinions when there was no money in the account on some days off, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thong - Director of VIB Branch said: The branch will receive customer opinions to serve better.

Currently, although VIB Bank has waived ATM withdrawal fees, due to the large number of customers withdrawing cash on holidays, while staff are not working, the fund replenishment has not been timely. Currently, VIB continues to maintain the policy of free withdrawals at more than 14,000 ATMs nationwide, which has been applied since June 2012.

Nghe An province currently has 250 ATMs of commercial banks in operation. Photo: Tran Chau

Recently, the State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An branch, has directed commercial banks in the area to ensure safety and security in ATM operations through coordination, exchange and sharing of information with police agencies to prevent and stop crimes related to ATM cards; acts of sabotage, theft and suspicious transactions at ATMs.

The branch also requires commercial banks to strictly report to the State Bank when there are unusual incidents or technical problems in case of forced ATM shutdown for more than 24 hours; direct the correct implementation of the provisions of law and the State Bank of Vietnam in equipping, managing and operating ATMs; at the same time, strictly comply with the directives of the State Bank of Nghe An Province Branch.

Require units to ensure 24/7 maintenance of hotline departments, technical departments, security departments, and treasury departments to promptly troubleshoot, check and handle erroneous transactions, ensure safety and accuracy of customer transactions; compensate for damages in case of errors or incidents causing damage to customers...

That's the rule, but simple things like collecting fees, ATM keyboards being too dirty or not being replenished on time, losing money in the account... still happen frequently, not to mention other bigger risks. Many customers using ATMs still feel that they are not considered as gods as the banks promise.

Pearl