ATM problems are here to stay?

Jerry Maglunog

Problems bug the country’s automated teller machines (ATMs) ranging from the low load of cash to interconnection problems and the government is hard put trying to fix it.

In fact, the government cannot even keep track of how many of the country’s 16,000 ATMs are “under maintenance,” “out of cash” or “off-line” on any given day.

The Bankers’ Association of the Philippines, an organization of 34 universal and commercial banks, says that most of the time, connection problems with telecommunications companies is the primary reason some ATMs don’t work. This problem is usually fixed immediately, however.

Another reason is when it’s raining heavily or when the weather is generally not good. “ATMs are sensitive. When they get soaked, they usually break down,” a source said.

The biggest—and longer lasting—problem concerns the amount of cash deposited with some ATMs.

Another source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that while some ATMs can accommodate as much at P1 million, their banks sometimes give them only P200, 000. So when the load is consumed, the machine would have to wait for replenishment. And sometimes this takes time, said the source, who heads the ATM department of one giant unibank.

He said the big advantage of his bank is that most of its ATMs have a full load of P1 million because “we’re the most heavily used among all banks in the country.”

“Small banks usually do not contain full load (P1 million) because they are not used much, especially those in the provinces,” the official said.

So is there are solution in sight?

Even the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is not of much help here.

Deputy Governor for Supervision and Examination Sector Nestor Espenilla said the BSP cannot order banks to put the maximum amount in their teller machines. “ATMs are just voluntary service. Under the law, banks are free to determine how much they want to load in their machines,” Espenilla said. Under the General Banking Act of 2000, there is no penalty for banks whose ATMs are always offline, regardless of reasons.