3 Tips to Avoid or Reduce ATM Fees

We've seen it in the recent news - all banks will be adjusting their ATM fees starting April 7, 2021. Netizens were quick to oppose the impending charges but the move is backed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

According to the news, all banks are only complying with the regulatory body. The shift to the Acquirer-Based Fee Charging Model (ABFC) is in compliance with BSP Memorandum No. M-2019-020.

As of this writing, the following banks have already cascaded to the public how much are the charges will look like come April 7th.

Now that it's going to cost you more to do transactions in an ATM, are there any ways we can do away with these fees, or, at the very least, reduce the charges?

Here in Kuripot Journal, we got you covered! 

Here are the top 3 tips on how you can avoid or reduce ATM fees:

Go Cashless

There are so many ways to avoid directly withdrawing your money from an ATM. Most banks have stable online banking systems and mobile apps so you can conveniently transfer funds from one account to another, and even to another bank.

There's InstaPay and PesoNet, some banks have QR codes. The pandemic forced most of us to learn how to use these features.

Also, you can pay directly using your ATM or debit card. This way, you don't need to withdraw cash from the ATM.

Stay within your Bank's ATMs

Based on the recent updates from most of the banks, they're still waiving ATM fees if you are transacting within your bank's ATM network. For those whose accounts are under banks with a good number of ATMs in their area, you can definitely go ahead and withdraw there.

The only downside here is that most of these banks' ATMs have long queues.

Schedule your withdrawals

If you really need cash and none of your bank's ATMs is around, then you have to minimize your withdrawal transactions by scheduling at least once or twice a month.

You can do plot it a few days after payday so you can also save time from lining up. This way, you only get charged on your scheduled withdrawal trip. 

These Kuripot Tips will definitely come in handy when the banks start rolling out the new ATM fees. If you have other tips that you can share with us, feel free to use the comment section.