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Central bank sets ceiling fee via newly issued e-money card regulation
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Bank Indonesia headquarters on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
B
ank Indonesia (BI) has issued on Sept. 20 its regulation on electronic money (e-money) card transactions, the BI Board of Governors Regulation No. 19/10/PADG/2017 on national payment gateways, which, in effect, allows banks to free their customers from paying the recently debated top-up fees.
BI spokesman Agusman Zainal said the central bank categorized top-up activities for the e-money card into two groups: topping up through the services provided by the card's issuing banks, and topping up through the services of third-party banks and other providers.
The top-up fee ceiling for third-party service providers like minimarkets was Rp 1,500 (11 US cents) per transaction, Agusman said as reported by kontan.co.id, adding that a transaction involving less than Rp 200,000 was free of charge.
Read also: Ombudsman opposes plan to charge bank customers e-money top-up fees
“The e-money card issuers that currently collect higher fees are required to adjust to the new regulation,” said Agusman, adding that the regulation was part of the central bank's efforts to protect consumers and to create healthy competition.
The formal enforcement of the e-money card regulation with be effective one month after its issuing date.
Earlier in the week, BI was criticized for stating that bank customers would be charged top-up fees to cover maintenance costs of the cashless system. In setting the fee ceiling, BI has freed issuing banks to determine whether they would charge top-up fees to their own customers or not.
Before the central bank issued the regulation, the State-Owned Banks Association had announced that its members would not collect top-up fees from their customers. (bbn)
