De Lima warns banks on raising ATM withdrawal fees

Justice Secretery Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice on Thursday cautioned banks on industry-wide adjustment in ATM withdrawal fees for they may be committing anti-competitive conduct punishable under the law.

In a statement, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said banks should ensure that transparency should be transparent in imposing interbank withdrawal charges.

“Raising consumer awareness on which banks charge the lowest fees and why they are paying such fees will lead to an informed choice and will promote greater competition among banks,” De Lima said.

“In this regard, we strongly caution banks to ensure that there is no coordinated action on their part to increase their inter-banking charges without any link to the costs of their operations and pass these charges on to their customers as this may be deemed anticompetitive conduct,’ she said.

Earlier, several banks announced an increase in inter-bank ATM withdrawal fees to P15 but the move was halted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.