Faced with alarming increases in bank charges you can save by using electronic facilities wherever you can rather than cheques.
Banks are increasing monthly service fees, cheque transactions and over-the-counter charges in a bid to force you to opt for electronic banking which is cheaper and more convenient for them.
Electronic banking also has advantages for you. It is safer not to use cash and cheques carry the risk of fraud.
Only the Nedcor banks, Nedbank and Permanent Bank, have upped their fees for electronic transactions in the last few months.
Nedbank has upped its account payment fee by 24 percent and the fee for depositing cash at both Nedbank and Permanent Bank has increased by five percent.
But electronic transactions are still the cheapest way of handling your banking.
So, make use of your Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) card as a debit card and whenever you can, pay your accounts by electronic transfer at an ATM.
Before you can make electronic payments to a third party, you must go to your bank branch with a statement from the company or person that you wish to pay.
The bank will set up the link and once this has been done you can regularly make this payment at any of your bank's ATMs, or by phoning your bank.
Some banks let you use your bank card as a debit card.
Find out from the merchants and petrol stations that you frequent whether they will accept an ATM card from your bank.
If they do, all you need to do is present your ATM card to them and they will swipe it through a machine. You will be asked what type of account you hold and you will have to input your Personal Identification Number (PIN).
The amount of your purchase will be deducted directly from your bank account and you won't run the risk of carrying large amounts of cash.
If you still have to use cheques for some payments, try to use them only for big amounts.
Remember that cheque fees are structured in such a way that cheques for smaller amounts cost you more than cheques for larger amounts.
Where you can, avoid face-to-face transactions inside your bank. Many banks have upped their fees for over the counter transactions.
It is a good idea to check whether your bank offers any packaged accounts, where you pay a fixed monthly fee and receive several other services free.
* The table shows increases in bank charges since March. The figures refer to transactions of R250. The cheque costs are for basic cheque accounts only.
Standard Bank has not increased its charges since February.