Shockingly high increases in cheque account fees have been implemented at Nedbank and Permanent Bank, the latest review of bank charges by Personal Finance shows. (View table of charges)
Over-the-counter fees, in particular, have soared. Nedbank and Permanent Bank account holders have been hit by a whopping 178 percent increase in the cost of withdrawing cash over the counter.
In June this year, Nedcor customers were paying R8 to draw R300 cash over the counter - now the fee is R22.30. The formula according to which Nedcor customers are charged is a minimum of R13, plus R1 for every R100 or part of R100.
On top of this you are charged your service fee, which is R3.30 for the first R100, and R1.50 for every subsequent R100 to a maximum of R19. The service fee formula differs between account holders - it depends on what you negotiated with your bank.
In contrast, a R300 cash withdrawal from an ATM at one of these two banks will cost you R4.68. The ATM cash withdrawal fee, although considerably cheaper than an over-the- counter transaction, has been increased by 10 percent since June this year.
Other steep increases at Nedcor include the minimum monthly service fee, which has been increased by 104 percent to R25; a Saswitchbalance inquiry fee which is up by 65 percent to R4.90; and a 40-page cheque costs 47 percent more at R12.50.
The cheque service fee for the basic cheque account package has been increased by 25 percent to R3.30 for the first R100, R1.50 for the next R100 or part thereof, to a maximum of R19.
Other banks, including BoE Bank, First National Bank and Mercantile, have also increased their transaction fees since June.
The single biggest increase in transaction fees at Mercantile has been the cost of stop orders. This fee has increased by a substantial 188 percent. You are now charged R3.80 plus the service fee formula, which is R1.80 for the first R100 and R1.30 for every subsequent R100, up to R20.
The fee for obtaining a statement over the counter is now 56 percent higher, and costs R3.50 for every page.
Mercantile has also increased its minimum monthly service fee by 26 percent to R18, and the fee for depositing a post-dated cheque is 29 percent more at R45. FNB has implemented increases ranging between five and 33 percent. The biggest increase is the minimum monthly service fee, which has gone up to R18.
BoE Bank has increased its fees by between five and 18 percent. Stop orders now cost R5.10 - 18 percent more - while transfers between banks is up by 13 percent to R5.75. The highest fee for inter-account transfers is R29. A BoE spokesperson explained that BoE charges differ from customer to customer. For instance, you may pay no minimum monthly service fee, but you will be charged for all deposits you make.
Comparisons across banks
The comparison of transaction costs across the big banks makes for some interesting reading.
The cheapest bank for making a cash withdrawal of R300 from an ATM which is part of the bank's own network is Mercantile at R3.54, and the most expensive is Standard Bank which charges R4.66.
Absa charges R3.74, FNB R3.90 and Nedbank and Permanent Bank charge R4.68.
As far as a cash deposit of R300 at an ATM is concerned, the cheapest bank is Absa, which allows you to deposit cash at an Absa ATM for free.
You can also deposit cash of less than R500 for free at Standard Bank, but you are charged 0.86 percent of the value of the transaction for amounts over R500.
A R300 cash deposit at an ATM at FNB, as well as at Nedbank and Permanent Bank, will cost you R3, and Mercantile will charge you R2.85.
Independent provider of comparative information on financial products, Netchoice, publishes comprehensive listings of charges across a wide range of banks. Visit the Bankmonitor site.