Africa-Press – Eswatini. Inasmuch as the local banks have adjusted upward their banking fees, at least approximately 46 per cent of Standard Bank Eswatini’s banking charges have been kept flat.
The five local banks published their new pricing guides for 2024 on Tuesday wherein some indicated increased banking charges while some remained unchanged. They did the publishing as per the regulatory obligation that they should do so every January 2. When further probed about the changes on Standard Bank Eswatini banking charges, the bank’s Head of Brand and Marketing Sibusile Sigwane said: “As of 2024, our pricing strategy has relied on keeping prices stable to provide consistency and reliability to our clients; approximately 46 per cent of the fees have not been adjusted upward (kept flat).”
Pricing
Sigwane said they have found that keeping our pricing stable allows for smoother transitions, minimizes client anxiety and ensured that their clients could plan their financial decisions with confidence. She said they have pledged their unwavering commitment to enhancing their digital capabilities, and clients have and embraced the convenience and efficiency that their digital solutions afford; thus allowing them to keep pricing at affordable levels. She said the few changes of note that have occurred could be simplified as follows: complex pricing structures have been simplified for purposes of transparency, service fees have been eliminated from the guide (now free for all clients), bundled offering has gone through a refresh with more services now offered (e.g. more free withdrawals, free swipes, free insurance etc.) and UNAYO was now the primary low-value remittance solution in lieu of the pricier Instant Money (our cash-out fees remain the lowest in the market).
Counterparts
“Lastly, we have also introduced pricing for our new digital capabilities at a fraction of the cost of their manual counterparts (e.g. Stamped e-statements which are available on online banking at a fraction of the cost of the one printed in the branch),” said Sigwane. The bank’s head of marketing further mentioned that though no major changes were made to their pricing, their strategy had always been guided by a steadfast commitment to financial inclusion, a principle that was deeply ingrained in their ethos. She said this commitment was reflected in their pricing strategy, which had been meticulously crafted to balance the need for financial sustainability with the imperative of affordability. Sigwane added that they have also taken great strides to gauge the perceived value of their services among their clients, ensuring that their prices align with the value that their clients derive from our services. Sigwane said they were a client-centric bank and they believe that affordable banking was an incontrovertible and was a must-deliver expectation on their part.
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