It is essential for banks to strike a balance between cost-cutting and improving the convenience they provide for customers.
MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. have decided to make the automated teller machines located away from their branches, including those at stations and commercial facilities, available to each other's customers, starting as early as the first half of next year.
If people have an account at either of the two banks, they will become able to do such things as withdraw money from the ATMs of the two banks with no service charge.
Even if cashless payments become increasingly common, there will still be people who use cash. The fact that there will be more ATMs that can be used without worrying about service charges is welcome.
Currently, if money is withdrawn from an SMBC machine located away from its branches using a MUFG Bank cash card during the daytime on weekdays, a fee of 108 yen is charged. The same goes for withdrawing money from a MUFG Bank machine with an SMBC card in those circumstances. These fees will no longer be charged.
A service charge of 216 yen must be paid to use ATMs on holidays and at night. The two banks are considering lowering the charge to the same level as that when people use the ATMs of banks where they have accounts.
Mutual use of ATMs is spreading among regional banks, but the MUFG Bank-SMBC case is the first such cooperation between megabanks. If the tie-up in ATM service expands further with the participation of other major banks, including Mizuho Bank, it will prove beneficial for customers.
Banks used to compete over the amount of deposits they held and therefore increased the number of their branches and ATMs. However, given the rise in online payments, the use of ATMs has been decreasing.
Enhance services
Banks' profits from their main business operations are on a downward trend. ATM maintenance costs, which are said to be about 300,000 yen per machine monthly, are said to be putting a strain on their management. Discarding the principle of sticking to the independent provision of services, and promoting cooperation in fields where the mutual provision of services is possible, could be a natural course of action.
Of the ATMs in about 2,900 relevant locations away from branches, MUFG Bank and SMBC plan to remove ATMs at about 500 places that are close to each other.
It is unavoidable for the two megabanks to decrease the number of ATMs installed near each other from the standpoint of efficiency. But it is crucial to not make things less convenient for customers.
Looking toward the future, it can be said that joint development of low-cost, function-focused ATMs will be useful, too.
In Europe and the United States, while banks collect fees for the maintenance of accounts, many charge no fee whenever money is withdrawn from accounts.
This could be a measure to be studied, but Japanese banks have many accounts: At major banks, the number reaches tens of millions. If the system is introduced hastily, it may cause turmoil. Prudent study is called for, even if the system is to be implemented.
Interest rates for savings accounts have been held at 0.001 percent per year. Even if 1 million yen is deposited, the interest is a meager 10 yen annually. Compared with the interest rates, the fees for such transactions as money transfers are higher. Banks must recognize that many of their customers are dissatisfied with the situation, and strive to improve their services.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 17, 2018)
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