banking

[Dave A]

I've been looking at the business rate card at Standard Bank. I see they've introduced a cheque deposit fee this year. Last year cheque deposits were free.

Any ideas on how to get banks to reconsider their fee structures?

[murdock]

been thinking about this issue and my thoughts are that i need to get smart...i need to figue out a way to maximise the services in the cheapest manner...in other words (always deal with my customers in cash)....instead of always using my cheque account to do transactions i need to move money around in the bank and find the cheapest way to do transactions...

these are just thoughts but i will need to narrow it down and do some research...it would be helpful if for example a person from standard bank or fnb or one of the other banks to assisit us with this...i suppose it wouldnt be in the banks best interest to assisit us with this because it would mean less money made out of us.

lets say cash for example you will need to do lots of small transaction to make up the R24 they charge you for 1 cash withdraw of R1000
but if you where smart you would have put your money for purchasing goods int a credit card and used the credit card...because it is free...but in saying that some outlets have got wise to this and dont offer a discount so you loose out on the discount...which could be more than the transaction fee to draw cash.

but them moving the money from the cheque account could cost you money and then there is the monthly service fee and insurance you have to pay...

you get what i am trying to achieve...maybe the solution is not moving banks but to utilise the accounts in a more cost effective manner.

and it still all boils down to one thing the best way to get money and spend it is in cash...you pay less tax....there are no deposit fees and withdraw fees...

the most important thing about dealing in cash is you cannot over spend...thats how i built up my company twice...cut up all the cards and dealt in cash...customer paid for materials i did the job and collected the cash on the day the job was completed this eliminated bad debt customers and i couldnt spend money i didnt have...no over spending on my part...when there was no money there was no money...not a credit card to dig a deeper hole or an overdaft facility to nail the coffin closed.

the banks aways promote the idea that your money is safe in the bank but boy do you pay for it.

i have also noticed that even when you print out a history statement they dont seperate all the bank fees...there are still some fees which stay in with all the other transactions that you miss unless you go looking....they must do that to trick you into thinking you only had to pay R1000 in fees and not R1500 and this is not unrealistic my monthly bank fees incuding interest are a lot more than this

like me your bank accounts and credit cards are becoming one of your biggest overheads in your company or personal life...take all you cards and accounts and work out how much you pay

transaction fees...
all deposit fees....cash and eft
account insurance
eft charges
debit order charges
interest on overdaft
and we wont even go into late payment fees etc or returned items because thats where they really start making money anywhere from R100 - R200 a pop

i write this theads to remind myself how i am digging myself a hole in my financial future by not spending my money that i making wisely....starting with the bank where i put the money

if i look back at my 20 years in bussiness there is only one regret..."that i didnt spend my money with a little more thought"..and i dont mean invest it into some institution which will make millions out of your money and all the brokers join the millianare club....then after 30 years they tell you the market crashed 10 years prior to your payment date so you only get back what you put in....i would have been a multi millionare by now if i had....so my advice to anyone starting out would be dont worry about how you gona make money thats the easy part...dont waste it when you get it...extend your pockets so you cant reach in and just take it all the time rather make it that you can only take it when you need it...ask your self do you really need that 42 " flat screen tv you purchased on your credit card last month? chances are you have just increased your family security risk by doing it...and what ever you do dont do what i am hearing people do i bolt it to the wall so they cant remove it...because then you have just increased the risk of your family being harmed or wife and daughter being raped...it is just a material thing which should be insured...and i am not even gona go there today.

i am not saying dont invest your money into anything just becareful...where you put it....dont be conned by an insurance brokers who will use your children and family as levaerage to get you to pay him a huge commission...and the company he works for millions.

rather buy your own property because thats what they will do with your money...look around you will notice all the big shopping centres are built and paid for with your investment.

[IanF]

I've been looking at the business rate card at Standard Bank. I see they've introduced a cheque deposit fee this year. Last year cheque deposits were free.

Any ideas on how to get banks to reconsider their fee structures?

Dave
Lets the oligopoly in work now I will watch and see if FNB implement this. One thing with bank charges is that they are unfair and unavoidable. Take debit cards when we get paid by debit card we still pay the same 5% commission + VAT but the bank gets the money straight away not like a credit card. Then to get a straight answer from them is impossible. I am still waiting for FNB to tell me why I don't get anything on their fuel rewards. So far it looks like a con, but still waiting for a straight answer.

[Dave A]

the best way to get money and spend it is in cash...you pay less tax....

You're referring to indirect taxes like VAT on bank charges, of course. Legally the payment mechanism shouldn't influence income tax

Funny thing - I don't enjoy cash in my business at all. Way too many things that go wrong with cash.

I am still waiting for FNB to tell me why I don't get anything on their fuel rewards. So far it looks like a con, but still waiting for a straight answer.

Shyte! Make sure you make a post when you know what the real deal is. I was seriously thinking of moving my business accounts to FNB on this alone. In theory that discount/refund would go a long way to covering my banking fees.

[murdock]

of course dave i wouldnt dream of stealing the taxmans money

how would they keep up their exotic lifestyles if we didnt pay our taxes.

the fact that i cant afford a 5 million house and 2 million car working in the private sector and not a public servant...just doesnt make sense.

i always thought it was the private sector people who where the rich ones...but it is clear that is no longer the case.

anyway positive thinking this year...no time to waste on worrying about how much they money the goverment is wasting.

what i need to focus on is getting the contract for waste removal...charging customers R88 per month...it must be a worth while contract to strive for...anyone have any contacts in durban waste and water preferbly the minister

[IanF]

Shyte! Make sure you make a post when you know what the real deal is. I was seriously thinking of moving my business accounts to FNB on this alone. In theory that discount/refund would go a long way to covering my banking fees.

Dave
Overall I am pretty happy with FNB just when i was looking at ebucks statement there was no credit coming through, then when I queried it they had the wrong email address. So still no answer. The way I read the programme is if you have petro cards you don't have to do anything. I will try again when I get back to the office tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice if FNB read this and were proactive
Also it looks like to get 15% you really have to be extraordinary!

[murdock]

and with another 28 cent petrol price increase maybe it might pay me to look into it.

[Justloadit]

I had a quick look at the FNB petrol discount offer, just marketing hype, to get the 15% discount, you really have to consume large volumes of fuel. I discarded it as hot air.

[Chrisjan B]

You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all people all the time...

If it is - if, or or but then somebody is being reamed but it is not the bank...

[Dave A]

to get the 15% discount, you really have to consume large volumes of fuel.

Define "large volumes". My companies goes through quite a bit of the stuff.