Last updated: 19 February 2015
In a few days, banks will be obliged to inform consumers using their ATMs of their fees, taxes or tariffs for ATM operations. This obligation is incumbent on them under Order no. 505/2014 of the President of the Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC), which shall enter into force at the beginning of March. This Order aims at protecting consumers using ATMs other than those of the bank that issued their cards. From now on, consumers will be informed of the fees generated by card operations, which was not the case before the entry into force of the abovementioned Order. For example, fees applied to cash withdrawals were not displayed on the ATM screen.
OBLIGATIONS OF THE BANKS
Banks will be obliged to display on ATM screens all information regarding fees applied to operations such as cash withdrawal, bank wire transfer, invoice payment or any other specific service requested by the user, and all that before the
operation is performed. Thus, consumers will be able to cancel transactions if they are not free of charge. All this information must be visible and displayed in an unequivocal, easy to read manner.
For debit or credit cards issued by banks owning the ATM where the operation is performed, the fees applied to any operations will be displayed as a percentage, but also under the form of a minimum amount to be paid by the user for each
operation.
For debit or credit cards issued by other banks than the bank owning the ATM where the operation is performed, the following message will be displayed: “Attention! Your transaction will be charged under the conditions provided by the bank issuing your card!
RECOVERY OF A CARD WITHHELD BY THE ATM
ATMs often withhold cards once they have been used by the consumer. If your card is blocked in the ATM, the bank owning the ATM will have to inform consumers, by a warning video signal displayed on the ATM screen, mentioning the following:
- The means of obtaining the withheld card and the steps to be taken in this respect
- The phone number to be called by the user, as well as the hours when such call can be made.