THE RM1 fee for automated teller machines (ATM) interbank transactions is still waived for the time being, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

The exemption began on April 6 during the movement-control order (MCO) and to date, no financial institution has requested for the fee to be reinstated, the defence minister and National Security Council spokesman said.

“There hasn’t been any discussion or request by banks for the RM1 charge to be reinstated. So the exemption continues, there is no change,” he said during the daily briefing on Covid-19 security matters.

The exemption was allowed to prevent people from crowding at ATMs, and to discourage people from going out at night on the pretext of withdrawing funds. Operating hours for ATMs during the MCO were also limited from 8am to 8pm.

From today, ATMs are running at normal operating hours, Ismail had announced yesterday.

The MCO was relaxed slightly when the conditional MCO was enforced on May 4, allowing most economic sectors to resume business.

The conditional MCO is expected to end on June 9, pending new decisions by the government. – June 1, 2020.