Customers of two local banks, Eximbank and Agribank, have said they are shocked to learn of higher transaction fees for ATM and Internet banking services, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reports.
Some Eximbank customers told the HCM City-based newspaper that they have received a notice on the monthly Internet banking fee of VND11,000. Earlier, Eximbank collected this fee on an annual basis, but it now follows in other commercial banks’ footsteps to charge it monthly.
As such, Eximbank ATM card holders have no way but to pay a total of VND33,000 if they use SMS, Internet and mobile banking services simultaneously.
A customer in HCM City’s District 9 said she had just transferred money to a relative of hers in neighbouring Dong Nai Province and that both are Eximbank customers. However, the bank charged the transaction at VND11,000.
“The fee is quite high. Other banks offer a fee exemption or collect a low fee if their customers transfer money within the same systems,” she said.
Eximbank also charges VND3,300 on its customers whenever they receive an SMS message on a new transaction.
Agribank has sent a notice on a service fee hike to its ATM card holders. For example, the money withdrawal fee, with value-added tax included, in the same system will rise to VND1,650 per transaction from the current VND1,100 from May 12.
Since March, Vietcombank has twice adjusted up the fee for SMS banking service to VND11,000 per month, and the transaction fee in the same system to VND5,500 a month for money transfers of over VND50 million (US$2,195).
A Vietcombank customer in District 2 said she has recently got services text messages from the bank over its increase of SMS, mobile and Internet banking service fees to a total of VND33,000, including value-added tax.
Banks said the fee spikes are intended to recover their investments in their ATM systems, and upgrade their Internet banking services to improve security.
Phan Thiet-Dau Giay freeway needs VND18 trillion
HCM City PMU Thang Long has sent the transport ministry a revised report on construction of an expressway connecting Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province and Dau Giay in Dong Nai Province in the public-private partnership (PPP) format, reports news site Cafef. The 99-kilometer road is designed to have six lanes, and allow for a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour. In the first phase, a four-lane road will be built with a width of 25-27 meters and total investment capital of over VND18 trillion, of which construction cost accounts for VND11 trillion.
PMU Thang Long said the project is expected to pick investors as from quarter two of 2019. Thanks to good preparations for site clearance and land compensation, work on the project can start in quarter one in 2020 and be completed in 39 months.
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/59636/Clients-fret-over-ATM-and-Internet-banking-fee-hike.html
