6 Banks to Fully Waive ATM Usage Fees for Elderly Customers Starting Next Year

After priority application to Ja-haeng ATMs in January 2022, phased implementation to other banks' ATMs during the first half of the year

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Starting January next year, ATM usage fees for elderly customers will be waived at six major banks.

On the 30th, the Korea Federation of Banks announced that as part of measures to alleviate the inconvenience faced by elderly customers in using financial services due to the digital transformation of financial transactions, from next year, customers aged 65 and older will be exempt from ATM usage fees during bank business hours at six banks jointly.

Initially, from January next year, customers will be able to use ATMs of their own banks during business hours without fees, and by the first half of the year, the plan is to gradually allow fee-free use of other banks' ATMs during business hours. The banks involved are NongHyup, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Kookmin Bank. As of the end of September this year, the total number of ATMs at these six banks is 26,981, accounting for about 83% of all bank ATMs (32,558 units).

With the implementation of the ATM fee waiver, it is expected that approximately 8.6 million elderly customers aged 65 and over will benefit from reduced costs for cash withdrawals, transfers, and other financial transactions via ATMs, as well as increased convenience in using ATMs. A representative from the Korea Federation of Banks stated, "The banking sector plans to continuously strive to ensure that financially vulnerable groups do not face difficulties in accessing financial services by exploring various support measures to bridge the digital gap for elderly customers who are vulnerable to changes in the financial environment due to digital transformation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.