CIMB expands SE Asian ATM Link

CIMB Thai's ATM network will be linked to CIMB in the Philippines, the sixth country of the CIMB ATM Regional Link.

CIMB Cambodia was earlier linked this month.

CIMB Group launched the ATM Regional Link last year so that CIMB customers can withdraw cash and check account

balances at 46,000 CIMB ATMs in five countries - Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia - without paying a fee. The ATM Regional Link is expected to pool all 10 countries of Asean by 2014.

Dusanee Klewpatinontha, executive vice president of retail banking, said yesterday that CIMB Thai had raised the limit on cash withdrawals to Bt30,000 from Bt20,000 for general customers and to Bt400,000 from Bt200,000 for preferred customers. Those upper-income customers can also now conduct up to 14 transactions per day instead of 10 transactions.

In the first seven months of this year, CIMB Thai Bank has seen more than 29,000 ATM Regional Link transactions against 9,000 transactions last year. Activity was especially higher in border provinces, reflecting more satisfaction with using CIMB ATM cards.

In the period, CIMB Thai customers made 11,741 ATM transactions in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia compared with 11,969 for the whole of last year.

Compared with the same period last year, foreign transactions rose by 68 per cent.

The bank aims to expand its ATM card base by 20-30 per cent this year from 220,000 cards currently.

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