THE National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW) today supported the campaign to abolish the RM1 interbank ATM withdrawal fee, saying it is an additional burden to the lower income group.
Its secretary general Gopal Kishnam said he does not understand the need for imposing such a charge and pointed out that people were only withdrawing their own money, and should not have to pay to make a withdrawal.
"The idea of using ATMs was to cut down on the number of workers needed to manage bank counters.
"But bank account holders are being penalised by having to pay RM1 for withdrawals they make. Banks are already benefitting from lower labour costs.
"Why is the ordinary account holder being forced to pay the RM1 charge," he said in a statement.
He added it is at the expense of poor workers who are made to suffer even more.
Gopal said during Covid-19 the RM1 charge was waived and asked why the banks cannot continue with such a measure as it is a big help to the workers.
The National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) had officially launched a signature campaign aimed at abolishing the RM1 interbank ATM cash withdrawal fee.
The campaign seeks to gather a million signatures to present to the Finance Ministry, highlighting the impact of this fee on the lower-income population. – March 31, 2025
