Faced with overseas banks' moves, Chinese local banks have not changed their ATM policies. Experts say Chinese banks should be careful of international competitors' moves and be aware of consumers' reactions.

No Chinese local banks have shown any intention to suspend ATM fees. Some banks say the 2-yuan charge each time is not even enough to cover their costs, as banks are charged by China UnionPay for the network.

But Citibank says the elimination of the ATM charge would not exert any serious impact to their income.

Chinese banks earlier defended ATM charges by saying that the charges would help them boost their ATM network. But analysts retorted that the big commercial banks were not willing to have their extensive ATM networks used for free by clients of their smaller peers.

In 2007, Chinese banks stopped charging the much-disputed cross-bank ATM inquiry fee. That policy allowed banks to charge card holders from other banks point-three yuan each time they check their bank account at an ATM. The charge triggered an uproar of criticism from the public.

(CCTV May 6, 2009)