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Evertec clarifies it won’t charge for person-to-person ATH Móvil transactions

By on April 11, 2018

SAN JUAN – The company that owns the ATH Móvil transaction service, Evertec, confirmed that it notified institutions that use its network that a “switch fee” will be implemented starting July 1, but clarified that customers who carry out transactions using the mobile application will not be directly charged.

ATH Móvil is an Evertec-owned application that allows electronic transfers between personal bank accounts. (Screen capture)

In a press release, the company owner and administrator of the ATH network denied multiple reports that indicated the company was preparing to begin applying an unspecified charge for person-to-person transactions made by its more than one million users, which register using their cellphone number.

“We want to clarify that, as the bulletin indicates, the announced charge applies to the financial institutions (issuers) participating in the Network and not to the end ATH Móvil user, similar to other transactions that are offered by the Network,” the company wrote.

However, Evertec’s decision could open the door for participating institutions such as Banco Santander, FirstBank, Caribbean Federal Credit Union and more than 80 cooperatives and other financial institutions around Puerto Rico to decide to leave the ATH Móvil network or implement related service charges for the use of the platform.

In the case of Banco Popular, the institution notified that it would not charge any fee to its clients. “We hereby notify that you may continue to enjoy the ATH Móvil service without charges when making transfers. The service charge that was announced today in a bulletin by our service provider Evertec, Inc., applies to participating financial institutions.”

Earlier Tuesday, a screen capture of bulletin 2018-03 went viral on social media, and despite the fact the document was addressed to network-affiliated institutions, many users announced they would delete the app from their cellphones.

“Since it was launched four years ago, consumers’ acceptance of the service has been exceptional, growing at an accelerated rate and allowing more Puerto Ricans to manage payments and transfers in a more efficient and secure manner. We are proud of what we have achieved and of having made ATH Móvil the preferred person-to-person money transfer service in Puerto Rico,” Sylvette Ramos, first vice president of ATH at Evertec, said in February, when the platform reached the one million users milestone.

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