STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 20, 2001
DUBAI -- The common Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ATM switch has become a reality following the addition of Oman to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) switch; more than 50 per cent of the ATM owners in the common switch are in the UAE, according to a report in the Financial Times.
The long-awaited common GCC switch , which has 1,287 ATMs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE, has 756 ATMs in the UAE. Of the 75 banks participating in the GCC switch, 37 are in the UAE, accounting for 50 per cent.
This means that most UAE-based banks are already in the common GCC switch except a few which do not have an ATM system.
Although all GCC states are interconnected through the country switch, several banks in these states have yet to be integrated into the common GCC switch because their ATM systems need to be upgraded.
The customer charge for withdrawing cash from an ATM in another country has not been announced. Since settlement and exchange systems are involved, there is almost certain to be a fee, banking sources told the Financial Times.
Within the UAE, most banks charge for the use of their ATMs by other banks' customers.
