Some banking transactions on current accounts have rocketed by 97 percent,
Personal Finance`s latest survey on bank charges shows.
The survey, done every six months, looks at a variety of the most common
transactions and compares the costs across the larger banks.
The biggest single increase for any one transaction was 97 percent, for
making cash withdrawals at Absa.
If you bank with Absa, you are being charged 97 percent more for cash
withdrawals at your bank`s own automatic teller machine (ATM) network. The
fee, prior to Absa`s annual increase earlier this year, was a flat rate of
R1,60 and is still a flat fee, but has been hiked to R3,15.
Cash withdrawals at ATMs that are not part of the Absa network have also
been increased, by 25 percent, or R6 to R7,50, for every transaction.
Nedbank and Permanent Bank have also upped some of their transaction fees in
their latest annual adjustment in July this year.
Some transactions, such as a cheque clearance fee and returned cheques, now
cost you 32 percent more at both these banks.
In addition to increases, Nedbank and Permanent Bank have introduced a range
of new charges on transactions which were previously free.
The transactions which are affected are: inter-account transfers, done both
at ATMs and over the counter; account payments at an ATM; and provisional
statements that you get over the counter.
If you are a Permanent Bank customer and opt to do your inter-account
transfers over the counter inside your bank branch, you will now be charged
anything from R1,90, up to a maximum of R16,03, for every transaction.
You are charged according to a sliding scale, which is R1,90 for the first
R100; R1,13 for each R100 or part thereof; and up to a maximum of R16,03
thereafter.
Standard Bank, First National Bank and Mercantile have not implemented their
annual increases since the survey in February this year. The latter two
banks have made single adjustments.
First National Bank is charging you R2,15 for balance inquiries at ATMs
which do not form part of the bank`s network. In doing so, the bank has
passed the Saswitch cost, which it has been carrying, onto you.
At Mercantile, cash withdrawals from its own ATMs has increased by 20
percent, from R2,85 to R3,42.
Remember that the fees shown in this survey apply to basic current account
packages. If you have one of the middle or upper accounts, you should be
paying lower fees than those reflected in the table.
If you are paying more than is reflected in the table, you should negotiate
your fees down with your bank.
Remember that the better the standing you have with your bank - which means
sticking within your overdraft limits and so on - the better your position
to negotiate fees.
You can also save on bank charges by keeping a certain minimum balance in
your account. At Absa, the amount is R1 750, while at at FNB and Standard
Bank, is it R2 000.
Compare the big banks charges on current account transactions.