Standard Bank has changed its transaction fee structure effective from the beginning of the year and you will now pay up to 139 percent more for some transactions, such as debit card purchases of R500.
See table.
Other transaction charges have, however, been reduced, Peter Schlebusch, the director of transaction and lending products in Standard Bank's retail banking division, says.
The affect of the increases on individual clients will vary, depending on the type of transactions they perform, how frequently they perform them, and how they bank (electronically or over the counter).
Schlebusch says the average Classic Account client will experience a 4.7 percent increase in monthly charges, from R57.30 to R60.02.
Different price packages
Clients can opt to pay transaction fees in one of the following three ways:
1. Pay as you go - you are charged a fee for each transaction you make;
2. A fixed monthly fee - you can perform a certain number of transactions each month for a flat fee; or
3. A refund option - you receive a rebate on your total charges if you maintain a certain balance in your account.
Pay-as-you-go charges
- Withdrawals
The fee for withdrawals of up to R500 from an ATM have been increased by 18 percent and the cost of withdrawals made inside a branch has been increased by two percent. Withdrawals from a non-Standard Bank ATM will now result in an additional R6 Saswitch fee - a 15 percent increase on the R5.20 charged last year.
- Payments
Inter-account transfers cost R2.75, which is eight percent less than the R3 charged last year.
Electronic account payments and stop orders will now cost R2.75 plus 0.50 percent of the transaction value to a maximum of R11.50. On a transaction of R500, you now pay 50 percent more, R5.25 instead of R3.50.
The fees for stop orders have dropped from R6 to R5.25 (13 percent lower) on transactions of R500, but have increased from R6 to R7.75 on amounts of R1 000 (29 percent more).
Last year the fee for debit orders, account payments (at a branch) and cheques was R3.15 for the first R100, plus R1.05 for every subsequent R100 with a maximum of R21. The new charge is R2.75 plus one percent of the transaction value up to a maximum of R23. The cost of making a payment of R500, by cheque or by debit order, has therefore increased by five percent from R7.35 to R7.75. On a R1 000 transaction, the fee has been increased by one percent from R12.60 to R12.75.
If your pay-as-you-go fees do not add up to at least R30 in a month, you will be charged a minimum monthly fee of R30 (up from R25 last year).
Fixed monthly fee option
Schlebusch says this option generally offers the best value for money. For a fixed fee of R60 a month, you get 10 free cheques, eight ATM withdrawals, three withdrawals over the counter and unlimited stop orders, debit orders, inter-account transfers and electronic account payments.
Refund option
Standard Bank will give you a rebate for the transaction fees that you incur during a month if you maintain a positive balance, above a certain amount, for the full calendar month.
The rebate depends on the minimum positive balance in your account. If your keep your balance between R6 000 and R14 999, you get a R70 rebate. For maintaining a balance of R15 000 to R24 999, you get a rebate of R110, and R180 for keeping R25 000 or more in your account. Depending on the amount, you could do better to put your savings into a fixed deposit or money market account where you will earn better interest on it.
How to work out your transaction fees
You will be charged a basic fee of R2.75 for each transaction, plus a fee calculated on the value of the transaction.
For instance, if you have the bottom-of-the-range cheque account (Classic Cheque), the fee for cheques is R2.75 plus one percent of the transaction value. So if you issue a cheque for R600, the cost would be R2.75 plus R6 (one percent of R600), bringing the total fee to R8.75.