Standard Bank's annual increases in transaction charges take effect at the beginning of 2004, and clients can expect to pay up to 11 percent more for certain transactions.
The impact of the fee increases on individual clients will depend on the type of account you have, the type of transactions you perform and the frequency at which you transact.
Peter Schlebusch, the director of Banking Products at Standard Bank, says that in a month the typical holder of a Classic current account:
- Makes four cash withdrawals at an average of R440 each;
- Makes one electronic account payment of R450;
- Pays three debit orders averaging R200 each;
- Pays one stop order of R250; and
- Issues two cheques of R480 each. Based on the above transactions, the impact of the fee increases on a Classic accountholder will be 3.7 percent.
The minimum monthly fee of R30 for a Classic current account will remain unchanged in the new year. You are charged this fee only if the monthly charges on your account are less than R30. On the PlusPlan savings account, the monthly management fee will increase by five percent to R10.50. You will be charged R10.50 only if your account balance drops below R1 000.
On the range of common transactions examined by Personal Finance, the largest fee increase is 11 percent.
While the first statement from an AutoPlus ATM each month is free (for either a Classic or a PlusPlan account), any subsequent statement will cost you R2.50, or 11 percent more, in the new year.
From next year, Standard Bank will introduce a new fee of R1 for a balance inquiry at an ATM for both the Classic and PlusPlan accounts.
Avoid balance inquiries using a non-Standard Bank ATM, because you will be charged R3.20, or seven percent more, in the new year.
Remember that you are charged a fee when an ATM declines your withdrawal because you have insufficient money in your account. This fee will decrease in the new year from R2.75 to R2 - a 27 percent decrease.
If you bank over the internet or via the telephone, rather keep tabs on your account via these channels, because neither channel levies a charge for balance inquiries. Knowing how much money is in your account will help you avoid the declined cash withdrawal fee.
From 2004, cash withdrawals will cost between four and seven percent more for Classic accountholders, and between two and four percent more for PlusPlan accountholders.
Drawing R500 from your current account at a Standard Bank ATM will cost you R7.30, or four percent more, in the new year. The formula for the increased fee is R2.80 plus 0.9 percent of the value of the transaction.
Should you use a non-Standard Bank ATM to draw cash, you will be charged an additional R6.40 on top of the normal cash withdrawal fee. This means that a withdrawal of R500 will cost you R13.70.
The most expensive way to draw money is from a branch using a cheque, in which case a R500 withdrawal in the new year will set you back R23.80 - a seven percent increase on the current fee.
The cost of a cash withdrawal of R500 inside a branch using an ATM card will be cheaper by almost 30 percent in the new year, and will cost you R15.50 instead of R22.25.
There are no charges for both Classic and PlusPlan accounts for cheque or cash deposits of less than R250.
Depositing R250 or more into a current account will cost four percent more, or R7.30, next year. Depositing R250 or more into a savings account will cost six percent more, or R7.70.
The formula for calculating the cost of depositing R250 or more into a current account will be R2.80 plus 0.9 percent of the transaction value.
The formula for calculating the cost of depositing R250 or more into a savings account will be R3.20 plus 0.9 percent of the transaction value.
However, from June 1 next year, you can make one free cash deposit a month provided you use a Standard Bank ATM.
Making payments by cheque will increase by just over seven percent for a R500 transaction from the beginning of next year. The cost of issuing a R500 cheque will increase from R7.75 to R8.30. The amended fee formula will be R2.80 plus 1.1 percent of the value of the cheque, up to a maximum of R25.
Debit card purchases and electronic account payments are charged at the same rate and will increase by just under one percent. A R500 transaction will cost you R5.30 instead of R5.25. The maximum you can be charged for these transactions is R12.50 - which is half the maximum you can be charged for cheque payments.
Debit orders from the Classic account to organisations outside the Standard Bank group will rise marginally. A R500 debit order will increase from R7.75 to R7.80 from January 1. To calculate the cost of debit orders, the formula will be R2.80 plus one percent of the transaction amount, up to a maximum of R25.
Stop order transactions will cost you R2.80 plus 0.5 percent of the transaction value, up to a maximum of R12.50 (excluding setting up the stop order, which will cost R10). Both stop and debit orders from the PlusPlan account are more expensive than from the Classic account because the bank tries to discourage transactions on your savings account.
Next year you will be charged R110 for every cheque you issue that bounces.
You will be charged R45 if you exceed your agreed overdraft limit on your current account.
Standard Bank has three current account fee options. Depending on the way in which you transact and the frequency of these transactions, you may be able to get cheaper banking by choosing a different option from the one you are currently on.
- On the pay-as-you-transact option, you pay a fee, based on the value of the transaction, for each transaction. Transaction fees differ depending on which cheque account package you are on.
- With the fixed monthly fee option, you pay a single fee for a fixed number of transactions. For instance, on the Classic cheque account package, the R65 monthly fee covers 10 cheques, eight cash withdrawals, three branch cash withdrawals, 15 electronic transfers, two cash deposits, unlimited balance inquiries and mini statements from an ATM.
- On the refund option, the bank gives you a refund of your service fees if you maintain a minimum balance for a full calender month. If your minimum positive balance is between R6 500 and R14 999, your monthly refund will be R75; a balance of R15 000 to R24 999 will get you a refund of R110 a month; and a balance of R25 000 and above will entitle you to a R180 monthly refund.