FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
) 
9 FEE! -9 FJ2:i;j 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Through the technology of Automated Teller Machines (ATM’s), bank customers 
can easily access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals, cash deposits, 
and balance inquiries. 
Some ATM operators however, charge their clients for a balance inquiry 
transaction without notifying customers that such transaction has a corresponding charge. 
The innocent customer will only then learn that he was charged with the balance inquiry 
transaction upon receipt of his periodical bank statement. By then, it will have been too 
late for him to take steps to avoid the charge. 
ATM operators who set up their system to unknowingly charge consumers for 
simply requesting a balance inquiry are doing nothing more than taking advantage of 
their customers. This Bill seeks to require ~ATM operators to provide a notice disclosing 
to the consumer that a fee will be imposed for providing the balance inquiry and shall 
require that the same be displayed on the ATM screen during the transaction. The notice 
required in this Bill shall also demand that ATM operators disclose the amount of the 
balance inquiry transaction and provide their consumers an opportunity to cancel the 
inquiry without paying a corresponding fee. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
1 
9 FEB -9 
2 :“i 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
REQUIRING ALL AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES TO DISCLOSE THE 
CHARGES FOR A BALANCE INQUIRY TRANSACTION 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Shorl Tille. 
This Act may be known as the “Balance Inquiry Fee Notice Act”. 
SECTION 2. Deffnitiom 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 
a) 
ACCOUNT - means a demand, time, or savings deposit, or other 
consumer asset account, other than an occasional or incidental credit balance, held 
either directly or indirectly by a financial institution and established for personal, 
family or household purposes. 
b) 
AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE - means an electronic information 
processing device which accepts or dispenses cash in connection with a credit or 
deposit account. The term does not include tellers’ stations staffed by a person or 
other staffed facilities. 
c) 
OPERATOR - means any chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan 
association, credit union or other entity which operates an automated teller 
machine. 
SECTION 3. Prohibition. - An operator shall not charge a fee to a consumer for 
the consumer’s use of an automated teller machine to inquire as to the balance in the 
consumer’s account unless both of the following conditions are met: 
1 


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a. 
A notice is prominently displayed on the automated teller machine screen, 
disclosing to the consumer before the consumer is committed to completing the 
inquiry and paying the fee: 
(1) that a fee will be imposed for providing the balance inquiry service; 
(2) the amount of the fee; and 
(3) that the consumer has a right to cancel the inquiry without paying the fee; 
and 
b. The consumer elects to continue the inquiry after the notice is displayed. 
SECTION. 4. Penalties. - Any director, officer or agent of an operator who shall 
authorize, order or perform any of the acts or practices constituting in whole or in part a 
violation of Section 3 of this Act, shall upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less 
than Ten thousand pesos (Pl0,OOO.OO) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos 
(P50,OOO.OO) or imprisonment of not less than two (2) months but not more than one (1) 
year, or both upon the discretion of the court. 
SECTION 5. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part thereof, is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, 
or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 7. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspaipers of general circulation. 
Approved. 
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