From April 1, customers of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) have access to free, unlimited cash withdrawals at either bank’s automated teller machines (ATM). Previously, customers were entitled to two free transactions per month, with subsequent transactions charged at S$0.30 per transaction. The completely fee-free service will be provided until Dec 31 this year.
“Although this shared ATM network service has been in place for close to 30 years, we want more of our customers to be aware of this convenience to withdraw cash, check their account balance and transfer funds. Our intention in offering this unlimited fee-free cash withdrawal promotion is to highlight the availability of these services, which are accessible across our combined network of ATMs,” said Mr Dennis Tan, head of consumer financial services Singapore, OCBC Bank.
The two banks have more than 1,200 ATMs in Singapore, at which customers can conduct cross-bank cash withdrawals, fund transfers and balance inquiry services.
In 2016, there were more than five million cross-bank transactions by customers using OCBC Bank’s and UOB’s shared ATM network. In the past 10 years, such transactions on the network have increased 30 per cent, highlighting potential customer demand for such an initiative.
Ms Jacquelyn Tan, head of personal financial services (Singapore), UOB, said: “There are three things customers expect when it comes to their banking services: Make it faster, simpler and more convenient. This partnership delivers on all three expectations, as customers have more ATMs to choose from and do not have to worry about capping their usage to only two cross-bank ATM withdrawals per month.”
In 1988, shared ATM services were launched to allow participating banks to withdraw cash and perform other transactions using any ATM within the network. DBS and POSB have their own shared network with 1,100 ATMs located across the island.