[Finance] Lowering Interbank Transfer Fees? FSC Decides to Maintain Current Status Due to 3 Factors
bella@@ 央廣 新聞7h ago
The current interbank transfer fee is NT$15. Legislators are concerned about whether it can be further reduced. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) reported that considering Taiwan's fees are already lower than neighboring countries, labor and anti-fraud mechanism costs are continuously rising, and financial institutions have already provided many preferential plans for reduced or waived fees; a survey by a financial company shows that about 50% of customers currently enjoy fee-exempt interbank transactions, thus deciding to maintain the current charging standards.
The adjustment of interbank transfer fees involves the operations and practical work of financial institutions. The FSC's written report stated that a meeting was held on April 22nd to discuss this matter, inviting the Central Bank, the Bankers Association, the Financial Information Service Co., Ltd. (FINI), and six financial institutions. A report was presented based on the meeting's discussions and resolutions.
The FSC report indicated that the interbank transfer fee was originally NT$17 per transaction, reduced to NT$15 in 2012. Since April 1, 2019, a tiered preferential system for small amount interbank transfers has been implemented: transfers of NT$500 or less enjoy one free transaction per day; transfers from NT$501 to NT$1,000 (including those exceeding the free limit for amounts under NT$500) have a fee of NT$10 per transaction; and transfers over NT$1,000 are charged NT$15 per transaction.
The FSC pointed out that the main conclusions of the discussion meeting on April 22nd were threefold. First, according to FINI's survey, Taiwan's interbank transfer fees are already lower than those in neighboring countries. The basic usage fee for transfers in the United States is US$79 per transaction. Fees vary among Japanese banks, ranging from NT$45 to NT$135 per transaction depending on the transfer amount. Fees also vary among Thai banks, ranging from NT$27 to NT$53 per transaction.
Second, financial institutions currently offer numerous preferential plans for reduced or waived fees. Banks provide diverse interbank transfer fee preferential plans for salary transfer customers, digital deposit account holders, and vulnerable customers. Furthermore, according to FINI's survey, approximately 50% of customers currently have their interbank transactions waived, with the costs absorbed by financial institutions, significantly reducing the proportion of actual fees paid by the public.
The FSC stated that third, labor costs and the costs of strengthening cybersecurity and anti-fraud mechanisms have risen in recent years. To enhance cybersecurity protection and operational resilience, financial institutions face continuously increasing procurement and maintenance costs for system software upgrades and backup mechanisms, leading to overall increased operational costs. Consequently, the costs incurred by banks for handling interbank transfers often exceed the revenue generated from these transfers.
In addition, financial institutions have implemented various financial anti-fraud measures in line with government initiatives. These include the "gray list" notification mechanism for designated transfer accounts (when banks accept customer applications for designated transfer accounts over the counter, the mechanism can immediately request the receiving bank to provide information on whether the account is a warning account, etc., to remind customers to avoid being deceived), the display of recipient account names for online banking and ATM transfers, and the integration of facial masking alert functions in ATMs. The costs associated with interbank transfers for anti-fraud purposes are also continuously increasing.
The FSC stated that considering all relevant factors, and taking into account that Taiwan's interbank transfer fees are already lower than those in neighboring countries, coupled with continuous price increases in recent years, rising labor costs, and increasing costs for strengthening cybersecurity and anti-fraud mechanisms, as well as the numerous preferential fee reduction or waiver plans offered by financial institutions, the consensus from the meeting is to maintain the current charging standards. (Editor: Song Wanyuan)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=215732
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