ATM pooling has become the latest trend as
banks try to curb operating costs at banks – and three Thai banks
have now teamed up to offer free ATM services in the country.
Government Savings
Bank, Government Housing Bank and Islamic Bank of Thailand
commenced the free ATM service on 31 May, but insisted that they
had no intention of enticing other banks’ customers to swap
banks.
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The deal between the
state-owned banks, who have a 2,700 units strong ATM network
between them, now enables all bank customers to transfer funds for
free between accounts held at any of the three banks and offers
free cash withdrawals.
The service
eliminates service charges of between THB10 ($0.33) and THB20 that
customers pay if they withdraw cash from a province where their
account is not based, as well as money transfer charges of around
BHT25.
Government Savings
Bank has the most ATMs with a network of 2,300 units. It will open
another 1,600 units throughout the year, which will take the ATM
pool between the three state banks to 4,300 units.
The 4,300 unit-strong
ATM pool will, however, compare with a total of about 40,000 ATM
units among commercial banks.
