Require 4 major banks to report on 'colluding' to increase ATM fees

The Department of Competition and Consumer Protection (Ministry of Industry and Trade) has just sent a document requesting four major banks to provide information and documents related to the fee increase.

Documents requested by banks include:Information on ATM service deployment of each bank, fees, and increases in ATM withdrawal fees (domestic and international) in the last 2 years.

This request was made by the competition authority on the basis of the provisions of Article 9 of the Competition Law. Accordingly, agreements to directly or indirectly fix the prices of goods and services are prohibited when the parties to the agreement have a combined market share in the relevant market of 30% or more.

The Competition Department affirmed that it will closely monitor and promptly take necessary measures to ensure compliance with the Competition Law of all enterprises in all sectors of the economy, including the banking sector.Violations of regulations on control of anti-competitive agreements may be subject to a fine of up to 10% of total revenue in the fiscal year prior to the year of implementation, or subject to criminal prosecution under Article 217 of the 2015 Penal Code, depending on the seriousness of the case.

Previously, 4 banks with large market shares in cards including Agribank, VietinBank, Vietcombank, BIDV announced that they would increase domestic ATM fees from VND1,100 to VND1,650 (including VAT) from July 15. However, the State Bank later issued a document "blowing the whistle" on these banks regarding ATM fees.

Exactly two months ago, the four "big" banks also joined hands to demand a fee increase. The reason for the ATM fee increase given by the banks was to compensate for the large losses in the ATM segment, estimated at 7,000 - 10,000 VND per transaction (not including maintenance and repair costs).