Withdrawing dollars

If not for Mr. Smith's letter of Oct. 9, I would not have known that BCA, or any other Indonesian bank, charges customers a commission for withdrawing his or her own money (dollars).

I checked with BCA Setiabudi branch, Bandung. The bank official there said: "When you withdraw you have to pay a commission to the bank of 1 percent. If you withdraw more than US$2,000, you have to pay, per dollar, the difference between the buying and the selling rate of the dollar (this can be from 5 percent to 6 percent)." This seems like a hefty amount just to get your own money back.

I then showed Mr. Smith's article to the bank official. She read it and then said: "We will not charge you a commission, if you accept 'bad' dollars (dollar bills with scratches or markings you have difficulty exchanging to rupiah)."

At Bank Danamon, Setiabudi Branch, Bandung, I got this information: The withdrawal commission is 0.5 percent, but it can change at any time at the discretion of the bank, without prior notification to the customer.

A friend of mine has an account at the Bank of Tokyo, Bandung. He received a notification that the withdrawal commission has been raised from 0.5 percent to 2 percent.

DJOKO SOEJOTO

Bandung, West Java