Bloomberg News
TOKYO - Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi plans to set up separate automated teller machines and tellers for depositors using its special managed accounts, which require a minimum monthly balance.
Since the beginning of 2001, the company been testing an American banking practice: treating customers differently depending on the kind of transactions they make. (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi owns a majority stake in Pacific Century Financial, the parent of Bank of Hawaii.)
In January Bank of Tokyo became the first Japanese bank to offer an ordinary savings account with an "account administration fee" of about $3 a month if the balance drops below 100,000 yen ($805).
Now it wants to speed up the transactions of the special depositors, even during busy times, by designating some ATMs and tellers for their exclusive use, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
The special accounts are now used by 560,000 depositors, and that figure is growing at about 100,000 a month. Since those who keep their balances above the minimum are exempt from the fee, most depositors concentrate their money in fixed-time deposits or investment trusts, which help boost the company's earnings.
The new ATMs and tellers will initially be used only during busy hours, but Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi plans to expand them at branches where the number of special depositors is increasing, according to the report.
