standard bank

[daveob]

An offshore trust works really well if you sell your services online and accept credit card payments in $ or £.

Your trust can then 'lend' you lump sums which you will owe back to the trust, or you use the debit cards from your offshore account to buy good on behalf of the trust - you're just using them and they still belong to the trust.

Account costs are around £7.50 per month ( in total ) to hold accounts in £, $ and Euro.

pm me if you want the contact details for a Trust expert - be prepared to pay for his consultation and services, but if you have online businesses, it's probably going to be minimal compared to your savings and reduced tax exposure.

[Dave A]

be prepared to pay for his consultation and services,

Have you got any kind of ballpark figure?

[Morticia]

Eish! Sounds like a LOT of trouble and extra costs (tax/forex/etc) to merely save a couple of rands in bank charges?

[Pap_sak]

Anybody thought of switching to Capitec? I am tempted - thier rates are much lower and they give you 11% on cleared balances. They do not have a cheque account though, but do have internet banking. Not sure if they business banking though..

[daveob]

Have you got any kind of ballpark figure?

Yep. Ballpark ( each clients needs are unique ) is about 16k.

First consultation is about R1400, which is deducted from the total cost if you go ahead with the trust.

Includes trust documents, offshore trustees first annual fee, opening bank accounts ( Stirling, Dollar and Euro ), internet and phone banking, debit cards, etc, etc

Typically, 'one' would be using online card transactions paid out direct to one's $ account and with an almost zero cost of sales, saving 30 - 40% of the transaction value that one doesn't have to pay to SARS as tax. That 30 - 40% saving has already paid the costs of the Trust setup in less than 1 month.

Another pro / con is that your overseas balance does ( in ZAR terms ) get better if the ZAR/US$ rate changes - you've already got your $ at a lower rate.

You have to decide if your business is suitable for this and probably the major factors would be :
1. the size of your 'cost of sales' and how much you need to pay to local suppliers
2. the number of transactions you do online ( can you ask clients to pay online with credit cards in $ instead of EFTs in ZAR )

[murdock]

the R85 was talken off before i could wipe the sh*t out my eyes...now i have proof that i transfered the money on the 1st do you think i can get a response from the bank...or a refund lets see how long they can drag their feet when it comes to repaying the money...it has been 16 days now already and still nothing...think about the numbers here if they do this to half their customers how much money do you think they make.

[daveob]

hmmm ... sounds like a typical bank.

What I would do .... phone and get hold of a clerk and fully explain the situation.

Make sure that you get the clerks full name. Advise this clerk that you expect the problem to be resolved to your satisfaction within 4 hours.

At the same time, ask for the name of the supervisor.

Advise the clerk that, at the end of the specified amount of time, you intend to phone the supervisor, and tell that supervisor that the clerk has either dilligently resolved your problem and made you a happy customer, or has failed in their duties and forced you to consider moving to a different bank.

Also make sure that the clerk ( and each person you speak to thereafter ) fully understands that you will give each link in their chain a full list of the staff that you have dealt with so far as well as a summary of their service levels.

Should you, at any time, feel that you're getting nowhere, you intend to phone the following to complain :
Peter Wharton-Hood ( Chief executive Personal & Business Banking )
Jacko Maree ( Group chief executive )
Craig Bond ( Chief executive )

[murdock]

thanks for the input...and thanks to standard bank i have just received an R85 refund from the bank...should i try get them to pay interest

[Dave A]

So it pays to ask

[Zeezax]

Bank fees

I checked my bank statement and noticed a lot of fees going off and it is not small amounts - from R5 upwards fro every transaction and sometimes other fees which I do not know about also. What I want to know is this: did the competision commission not investigate this bank fees? Where the banks not suppose to come down with bank fees? On my salary of R5000 I pay nearly R200 bank fees a month.

[BBBEE_CompSpec]

It pays to bank at Nedbank. My monthly banking fee total R35-00

[tonyflanigan]

It pays to bank at Nedbank. My monthly banking fee total R35-00

is that a flat rate BBBEE? cos our charges are killing us. Its looking like a good idea to stop drinking and smoking

[BBBEE_CompSpec]

My fees are always around that amount. A Lot of businesses bank the cheques and stubs from the smart machines, then use the cash for petty cash or purchasing. It works with most companies. Unless you are a cash only company.

[carm]

I have used a few banks for personal and business. Nedbanks fees are around R300 per month. I asked the business bank manager why it had increased a couple of months ago by R150. Then i realised it was not just my account but others too. FNB is about R120 a month on set fees, but i get charged for internet transfers. Capitec credit card machine is by far the cheapest when it comes to commissions.

All in all banking is expensive but vital. Like everything in life if there is a need there is a cost. A bank is a business not a place to store money and watch it grow. Unfortunately we need a bank account these days for business and personal. People require statements to see good money handling.

I believe when choosing a bank look at the service fees offered, each bank has different rates suited for different needs. Also look at there service when it comes to solving issues. If they are quick to respond to complaints and queries then to me it is a good bank. I harldy ever go into a bank but when i do i want all issues resolved there and then so i don't have to return or phone for another few months.

[Sieg]

Standard Bank

Standard Bank

Moving forward

very, very slowly in long queues ...

and where you cannot phone the branch directly but have to go through a call centre to be asked many questions and an account number ["no, ma'am, I do not have an account with Standard Bank, will never have an account with Standard Bank. I am an attorney calling to find out about that property guarantee that is now taking Standard Bank more than two weeks to issue. I just want to talk to *name withheld* at your Westville Branch. I want to know whether I must place your client, the purchaser of a property on terms by giving him legal notice that he is now in breach of contract?]

In another matter, I am in the process of issuing a summons against Standard Bank and their attorneys where it took more than a week for Standard Bank to pay out on a guarantee after registration of their bond.


[Hint: stay away from this bank. Try Capitec.]


Sieg