/ 1 December 2010

A peek at Nedbank’s new bank charges

Nedbank’s annual pricing review is, as expected, intent upon driving consumers towards transacting online or on their cellphones and moving away from handling cash or transacting at branches.

Nedbank’s price increases, announced on Wednesday, will mostly affect traditional banking channels and cash handling.

Nedbank is making much of the fact that its average increase of 6% for a typical current account client has been in line with inflation, and on a typical bundle of banking services its fees are lower than they were in 2005.

“We do want to stress that we have products that can greatly reduce costs for those who bank with us,” said Anton de Wet, managing executive of personal banking and client value management.

For example, a Nedbank Savvy customer can save up to 23% of their fees by substituting one cash withdrawal from a retailer rather than another bank’s ATM.

A Transactor Plus customer can save 29% by paying for two transactions with a debit card rather than cash, switching two withdrawals to a retailer till point and getting cash sent electronically rather than depositing cash at a branch.

A Mzansi client can save 45% by substituting one cash withdrawal from a Nedbank ATM and one from another bank’s ATM with two cash withdrawals from a retailer such as Pick n Pay. The Mzansi high-transaction penalty fee was scrapped in 2007 and De Wet says Nedbank is the only bank to have done this.

By being proactive and using Nedbank’s Pricing Call Centre or online Bank Fees Calculator, customers can make significant savings on their bank fees.

The fees that stay the same:
ATM saswitch fees and eNotes (SMS notification) won’t increase in price and you can withdraw cash at points of sale for the same cost.

Using your card to pay for goods at till points won’t cost you more and the self-service banking subscription fees will remain unchanged.

SMS and telephone banking are still free, as are e-Statements, and Personal Money Manager (which helps you plan your finances and budget accurately) is free.

You can also switch your bank accounts and debit orders via Nedbank’s Hassle-free switching service for free. And having an affinity card linked to a charity of your choice won’t cost you, either.

The fees that change:
Looking at the current account, the heaviest increases appear to be cheque payments, going from R10 to R12 for values of R1 to R499 (R7,70 in 2009); from R18 to R21 for values of R500 to R1 499 (R15,40 in 2009) and from R28 to R31 for values of R1 500 or more (R27,50 in 2009). External debit orders have increased from R10,70 to R11,50 (R10,25 in 2009). An internal debit order will now cost you R5,50 as against R5,25.

An over-the-counter cash withdrawal goes up by R2, from R21 plus R1,10 per R100 to R23 plus R1,10 per R100. That’s a R3 increase since 2009. The overdraft facility fee has also gone up, from R5,50 to R6, for limits from R1 to R5 000. For limits of R10 001 or more, you’ll now pay R18, as against R16,50.

Cash deposits will be pricey — a branch cash deposit will now cost R3,50 plus R1,15 per R100, up from R1,15. An ATM cash deposit will cost the same.

Finally, the monthly fee maintenance goes up by R1, from R12 to R13. The 2009 figure was R11.

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