Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIAN commercial banks earn more than N$310 million every month from fees and a new report by the Bank of Namibia shows which avenues to use, and ones to avoid if you want minimum fees.
The BoN specifically lists card replacement fees, cash withdrawals inside bank branches, and cash withdrawals at other banks’ ATMs as costing the most.
Fees for card replacements are all above N$120, with Bank Windhoek being the most expensive at N$204,16 per card.
The BoN’s fees report was based on the fees applicable at the end of September this year and was based on the seven banks’ basic accounts.
The Namibian last week reported that commercial banks are moving away from their core business of accepting deposits and extending loans to earning more money through other avenues.
An undeniably lucrative revenue has been fees.
Last year commercial banks earned N$3,6 billion in fees.
Net interest income for that year was just at N$3,8 billion and shows the heavy reliance of the banks on the fees.
The commercial banks charge for every transaction, from buying electricity to withdrawals, and those who prefer traditional banking pay a hefty price for it.
Inside the bank withdrawals are costly and sometimes attract a fixed and contingency fee, like in the case of FNB, which charges N$95 plus 3,62% of the transaction value, while Letshego Bank charges 3% of the transaction value, with a maximum fee set at N$1 050.
Cash withdrawal at another bank’s ATM are also costly, although the central bank has been calling for some form of interoperability.
Even NamPost, which has no ATMs, charges for foreign ATM withdrawals at 3% of the transaction value, with a minimum fee of N$15, and no maximum fee.
Four of the banking institutions offer digital wallet services, namely Bank Windhoek (easy Wallet), FNB (eWallet), Nedbank Namibia (Nedbank Money), and Standard Bank (blue Wallet), which all charge fees for sending money.
Letshego does not offer digital wallet services, but provides a ‘Send Money’ facility through SBN infrastructure, and charges N$5 per transaction.
The other banks charge above N$10 for each amount less than N$500, and increase this fee as the value of the money sent increases.
Stop order fees are also pricey, with FNB charging clients N$29,50 per stop order.
Bill payment fees, monthly account maintenance fees, internet banking payment fees, and cardless cash withdrawal fees add to the consumer’s expenses.
The only fees not listed in the report are bank statement request fees, which are not less than N$40 for most banks.
Commercial banks with their hefty fees have been blamed for some time for contributing to the flourishing cash-based informal economy, as most small businesses prefer to operate on a cash basis instead of through bank accounts.
According to the BoN, the cheapest cash withdrawal service across banking institutions appears to be withdrawing from an agent or merchant.
This has opened up new avenues for players to enter the market and offer such services.
The fees are not too different from what South African banks charge.
There has also been an upsurge in Namibia’s payment applications, such as PayToday, which charge lower fees than transactional accounts.
In South Africa, the founders of Streamz Pay, Kyle Manganyi (25) and Lesego Moganetsi (26), created an instant transfer app which charges a fixed transactional fee of only N$1 per transaction.
They also wanted to relieve customers of queues at ATMs, bank branches, and shops.
Last year, in the defence of the commercial banks, central bank governor Johannes !Gawaxab had said by increasing fees in the prevailing tough economic environment, commercial banks are only doing what is normal in the sector and the central bank cannot stop them.
The Bank of Namibia report is available on the bank’s website and so are the previous reports, which show increases across most fees.
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