Customers of nine Thai banks will be able to use ATMs in Malaysia from next month as part of a cross-border scheme that aims to provide the service across Asean countries.

National ITMX (Interbank Transaction Management and Exchange) yesterday joined forces with Malaysian Electronic Payment System (1997) Sdn Bhd (MEPS) to offer cross-border ATM transactions at 5,900 ATM machines in Malaysia.

The operation will be expanded to Singapore and Indonesia in the first quarter of next year.

Both Thai and Malaysian travellers will be able to withdraw money at ATM machines throughout Malaysia and Thailand that bear the ATM Pool logo.

The nine local banks - Krung Thai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, TMB Bank, Siam City Bank, BankThai, UOB Bank (Thai) and Bangkok Bank - have a total

of around 10,000 ATMs nationwide, while MEPS will provide around 5,900 ATMs through its MEPS shared ATM network in Malaysia.

To begin with from next month, Malaysia's Hong Leong Bank will team up with the nine Thai banks to offer the service to its customers. By the end of this year six more local Malaysian banks - Maybank Berhad, RHB Bank Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad, EON Bank Berhad, Bank Islam Berhad and Southern Bank Berhad - are expected to have joined the scheme.

"This collaboration agreement will provide convenience for both Thais and Malaysians travelling in Malaysian and Thailand," said Teera Aphaiwongse, National ITMX chairman.

Dato Mohammed Hata Robani, managing director of MEPS, said he expected that by the end of next year around 1 per cent of Thai visitors would make at least one transaction via ATMs in Malaysia.

He said visitor arrival statistics in 2005 showed that almost two million Malaysians travelled to Thailand while around 1.3 million Thais visited Malaysia.

Teera said the fee per transaction would be in the range of Bt70-Bt100, depending on each bank's charges. The maximum withdrawal amount would depend on each bank's quota offered to its customers.

"The next step is to provide this cross-border service throughout Asean countries and offer other services such as fund transfers and billing payment," said Teera.

Thanachai Thanachaiary, senior executive vice president of UOB Bank (Thailand), said the service was likely to increase the number of ATM transactions because it had a number of customers in Malaysia and Singapore through its parent company, United Overseas Bank of Singapore.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation