STRATEGIC PARTNERS
January 10, 2002
TOKYO - Japan's Asahi Bank is considering ending its ATM sharing deal with Sanwa Bank Ltd and Tokai Bank Ltd, according to Reuters news service. Under the current arrangement, cardholders from the three banks could avoid charges when using any of the ATMs in that network.
With the end of the deal, customers using the ATMs of banks where they do not have an account will have to pay 105 yen per transaction, according to a Kyodo news service report.
Asahi is one of few Japanese city banks left in the wake of industry-wide consolidation, after it backed out of a planned three-way merger with Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank last year.
Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank established UFJ Holdings Inc., along with Toyo Trust & Banking Co. in April this year.
According to Reuters, Asahi plans to link up in June with IYBank's ATM network, a new banking unit of Japanese retailer Ito-Yokado Co Ltd.
