The latest annual review of service fees at First National Bank (FNB) will result in some sweeping changes, Wendy Lucas-Bull, the chief executive officer of FNB Retail Bank, says.
Firstly, FNB will lead the way by dropping all monthly subscription fees for internet, telephone and cellphone banking from November 1 this year, she says.
FNB will also introduce "banded" pricing in place of the traditional sliding scale fees. Sliding scale fees involve a complicated formula which will be replaced by the more simple banded fee. A typical cheque fee, for example, is now R6 for a cheque up to R500, R12 for a cheque between R500 and R1 000, and R18 for cheques over R1 000. A lower banded fee has also been introduced for internet and telephone payments.
"We have been moving toward a policy of sensible pricing, and the banded fees are both easier to understand and more transparent for our customers," Lucas-Bull says.
"We have also managed to contain increases to below the inflation rate. Comparisons are always difficult, but an average basket of transactions should cost eight percent more.
"Our goal is to introduce rational, simple, sensible pricing options that our clients can understand easily while ensuring they pay only for the services they elect to use."
Cheque service fee options
Lucas-Bull says as an FNB cheque account client, you have three service fee options:
- The Fee Saver option, which offers up to 35 free payment transactions for maintaining a minimum monthly balance of R6 000. This was previously R5 000;
- A Fixed Monthly Fee option, which covers up to 35 payment transactions. This costs between R70 and R115 a month, depending on the type of cheque account and no minimum balance needs to be maintained;
- A Pay As You Use option, where customers pay according to the transactions and services they use each month, depending on the banded fee structure in which they fall.
Value added services
FNB has also introduced a wide range of value-added services to its various accounts.
FNB cheque accounts are the first in South Africa to be part of a customer appreciation programme and customers can now earn eBucks on their accounts at no extra charge. In addition, a new-look A4 statement has been introduced which allows customers to see more clearly how they spend their money, thus enabling them to better manage their money.
The recently introduced inContact service is now free to eBucks subscribers.
Customers are quickly notified by SMS or email of transactions going through their accounts. It is seen as an important fraud-prevention tool and FNB encourages all customers to make use of this service.
FNB also recently merged its transmission and savings accounts into one product called Smart Account. A host of extra services, such as a medical assistance help-line, are included in the R4.50 a month management fee.
"Unfortunately, the cash handling fee has been increased by 37 percent to 0.55c for every R100 cash withdrawn over the counter."
However, Lucas-Bull says this fee was introduced to cover the bank's additional cost of holding cash which has doubled in the last year.
Brochures detailing the new rate structure have been mailed to FNB clients. They can also be collected from any branch of FNB or by calling FNB's DirectLine on 0860 11 22 44.
The new fee structure will also be published on the FNB website ( www.fnb.co.za) and on eBucks.com ( www.ebucks.com) by the middle of October.