Government in this week’s parliament sitting will present a Bill on National Switch.
Attorney General and Finance Minister Aiyaz Sayed- Khaiyum says its critical that all banks come on board the National Switch.
“We have a ridiculous situation where banks like Bred Bank have not been allowed to get into an agreement of cost usage of ATM machines of other banks. Bank of Baroda has been in Fiji for decades, but they weren’t even allowed to be part of ATM Agreements between Westpac, ANZ, and BSP,” said the Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed- Khaiyum.
Sayed- Khaiyum says this will ensure a reduction in cost of infrastructure for banks in Fiji.
” If the banks have spent a lot of money upfront with ATM Machines as opposed to shared infrastructure, then the cost of infrastructure will not be passed on to the consumer. At the moment if you withdraw from other banks ATM, the fee if $1.50 per transaction. So if I withdraw $10, I will be charged $1.50, that is more than 10 percent of money that I am withdrawing,” he said.