Bank charges on transmission accounts have not escaped increases and in one
instance the cost has gone up by as much as 97 percent, Personal Finance`s
latest survey shows.
Last week Personal Finance reviewed current account charges which also
showed increases up to 97 percent.
The transaction that has been subjected to the highest increase is cash
withdrawals from Absa where you draw cash from Absa`s own network of
automatic teller machines (ATMs). This fee has increased from R1,60 to
R3,15 for every transaction that you make.
The cost of cash withdrawals from an ATM that is not part of Absa`s network
has also increased from R6 to R7,50 - an increase of 25 percent.
At the two Nedcor banks which offer these accounts - Permanent Bank and
People`s Bank - you now pay 25 percent more for debit orders, 19 percent
more for cash withdrawals, eight percent more for balance inquiries and
seven percent more for cash deposits.
When it comes to paying for debit orders, you can score at Permanent Bank
if you maintain a minimum monthly balance of R1 500 in your account. Then
you don`t pay anything for debit orders. But if your balance drops below
this, you will be charged R2,85 for debit orders.
People`s Bank, on the other hand, charges a lower fee of R1,42 for its
debit orders regardless of your balance. You are also paying more for
drawing cash at Permanent and People`s Bank, the surveys shows.
Cash withdrawals costs have been upped by 19 percent at both Permanent Bank
and People`s Bank, when you use the ATMs of other banks.
You are charged according to a sliding scale, which differs according to
the amount that you withdraw. At Permanent Bank you pay R2,28 in addition
to the fee formula if your monthly balance drops below R1 500.
For example, a R500 withdrawal from a non-Nedcor ATM will cost you R8,38
at People`s Bank. At Permanent Bank, you will be charged R6,67 if your
minimum monthly balance is more than R1 500 and R8,95 if it is less than R1
500.
The new service under Permanent Bank reflected in the table refers to the
fact that Permanent Bank has recently installed self-service machines where
you can do various transactions but not draw cash. The new machines were
brought in to alleviate queues at the normal ATMs.
Checking on the balance in your transmission account at ATMs that are not
part of your own banks network has increased by 25 percent at Absa and
eight percent at Permanent Bank and Peoples Bank.
Fees for balance inquiries at a non-Absa ATM have been increased from R1,50
to R1,88 and from R2,74 to R2,97 at Permanent and Peoples Bank.
FNB has also introduced a charge for this where previously it was free. The
cost of balance inquiries across the banks ranges from R1,85 at Standard
Bank to R2,97 at the Nedcor banks.
By contrast, balance inquiries at all the banks are free if you stick to
using an ATM that is part of your bank`s own network.
If you want to save on bank charges you should try to keep a minimum amount
in your bank account every month. At NBS it is R2 000 and at Permanent Bank
it is R1 500.
At NBS, you get 12 free cash withdrawals and five free cheques in a month
provided you maintain a minimum monthly balance of R2 000 in your account.
First National Bank, NBS and Standard Bank have not implemented their
annual fee increases since Personal Finance`s last survey in February this
year.
A transmission account is a simple transaction account and, when introduced
by banks some years ago these accounts did not offer bells and whistles
such as cheques and overdrafts.
These days, some transmission accounts do offer a cheque facility.