BULAWAYO Bank service charges do not reflect the value of the currency in use and service delivery by banks. According to a recent survey, banks were charging between US$3 and US$8 for a basic savings account.As a civil servant I was asked to pay US$5 of service charges before I could get my salary, said Babongile Moyo, a teacher. He accused banks of ripping off their clients as they knew most employers insisted that salaries be deposited into accounts.
Moyo said apart from service charges, they were affected by differing conversion rates. Another consumer, Miriam Ndlovu, said that in South Africa bank charges were minimal and at times were lower than the interest received for keeping the required minimum balance.
In South Africa, I had a savings account with Post Bank and the minimum balance was R35. I remember that the maximum that was deducted from my account was R5, said Ndlovu.
Some consumers said the bank charges were too high and discouraged them from using the formal banking system.
Lovejoy Lunga accused banks of being ignorant. This is a time of confidence-building, especially from a sector that has been bedevilled by problems since 2004.We are sceptical that the banks will report a profit and yet they insist on ripping us off.
This will definitely scare potential customers away, said Lunga.