Luanda — Angola's commercial banks will, as of today 1 January 2024, have to pay 700 kwanzas in interbank fees if their customers withdraw money from the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of other banks.
The measure, which does not affect users of the multicaixa card, covers all banks that issue payment cards and install ATMs in the country, according to the Interbank Services Company (EMIS).
Previously, the interbank fee for withdrawing money from ATMs of different banks was 350 kwanzas, a commission that this year has risen to 700 Kwanzas, a 100 per cent increase on the previous figure.
The interbank commission is a fee agreed between commercial banks for the reciprocal services they provide each other, without having a direct impact on the bank customer.
It refers to the amount that one bank pays to another whenever one of its customers uses another bank's ATM.
In this regard, the executive director of EMIS, Joaquim Caniço, recalls that the respective fee has always existed and has never had an impact on users' pockets.
Speaking to ANGOP, he explained that the interbank commission in question is part of a set of incentives for banks to better manage the logistics of loading money into their ATMs.
He added that the banks that keep the money in their ATMs gain the most from this process.
However, Joaquim Caniço reiterates that it is a fee that "does not apply to the payment card user," but contributes to the existence of more ATMs with cash available in Angola.
In other words, the measure aims to encourage banks to make more money available in ATMs, while small banks or those with a small number of machines in operation and little financial availability to load the ATMs will pay more because their customers use machines from other banks.
Around 7.6 million bank cards and nearly 3,500 automatic teller machines (ATMs) are in service across the country according to EMIS records, which represent an average of 184 ATMs for each commercial bank.
EMIS is the operator of the Angolan interbank network for the network of ATMs and Point-of-Sale terminals for automatic payments under the brand name of Multicaixa. QCB/AC/MRA/DOJ
