Megalink joins Asian ATM card network

By this time next year, Filipinos traveling for business or pleasure to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia will no longer need to bring dollars that they have to exchange for the local currency in order to pay for their food or purchases.

Similarly, Filipinos living and working in these countries need not line up at remittance centers in order to send their wages to families back home.

The Megalink ATM network has been admitted into the Asian Payment Network (APN), which counts ATM networks in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia as members.

Membership in the APN, explained Megalink President and Chief Executive Benjamin P. Castillo, means linkage between Megalink and the ATM networks in these four countries to allow the depositors of Megalink-member banks to use their ATM cards, whether in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia, to withdraw cash, transfer cash or inquire about their balance or use their ATM cards as debit cards to pay for their purchases.

Conversely, nationals of these countries who are depositors of network-member banks can undertake the same transactions in the Philippines as they do back home.

The other members of APN are Network for Electronic Transfers in Singapore, Malaysian Electronic Payment System in Malaysia, National Interbank Transaction Management Exchange in Thailand, and Alto, Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis and Rintis Sejahtera in Indonesia.

"Filipino businessmen or travelers can withdraw ringgit from an ATM in Malaysia, for debit against their peso accounts in the Philippines," Mr. Castillo said, to illustrate the the benefits of the interconnection.

Or an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) can deposit in any APN-member bank in the country where he works, for easy withdrawal by his family members back in the Philippines.

APN has decided on a "virtual private network" to interconnect among themselves, Mr. Castillo said, and Megalink will come on board early next year.

Linkages are already up and running between Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, while arrangements are being made for a link between Malaysia and Thailand.

APN can be an alternative to the Cirrus worldwide interbank network. APN gives access to over 20,000 ATMs, while Cirrus card holders have access to over a million ATMs in over 200 countries worldwide.

For a bank to be a member of the Cirrus network, however, it must also be a member of the Mastercard network.

Use of APN will come with a fee, said Bernadette C. Arguelles-Ramos, head of Megalink’s products and services group, but how much has not yet been decided upon.

Services that will be offered to network users will "initially" consist of balance inquiry and withdrawals but this will be expanded eventually to bills payments and money transfers.

Mr. Castillo said Bancnet and Expresslink, with which Megalink has interconnected, can also apply for membership in the APN through Megalink as their sponsor.

"This is what we hope to do in the next meeting in 2009," he said. "Alternatively, Bancnet and Expressnet may opt not to become members of APN but depositors of Bancnet- or Expressnet-member banks can still use the APN network because we are interconnected."

Megalink’s members are: AIG-Philam Savings Bank, Maybank Philippines, Asia Trust Bank, One Network Bank, Bank of Commerce, Pacific Ace Savings Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Encash, Philippine Veterans Bank, Planters Development Bank, Equitable Savings Bank, Premiere Development Bank, GE Money Bank, Queen City Development Bank, GSIS Family Bank, Robinsons Savings Bank, LBC Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines, MASS-SPECC, United Coconut Planters Bank and — once its integration with Equitable PCI Bank is complete — Banco de Oro Unibank.

Bancnet, on the other hand, consists of 31 member banks, including market leader Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., while Expressnet counts the Bank of the Philippine Islands and its subsidiaries, Land Bank of the Philippines and HSBC as members. - Judy T. Gulane, BusinessWorld