banking

[murdock]

right it is time...

i need to find out which bank is the most affordable...

i need a bank which offers the most competitive rates... there is no service when it comes to banks anymore so i am not concerned about who offers the best service...i am looking for a bank which is not gona cost me a fortune to conduct my bussiness...and has easy internet.

any ideas?

[Dave A]

Remember when I compared foreign draft fees? The winner there depended on a number of factors. There might not be a stand-out winner in this case too.

Maybe if we all post a few critical rates from the banks we're dealing with at the moment, that would help?

[Justloadit]

I use FNB and find that the internet banking is free and is easy to use. A payment costs around R8.00 VAT included irrespective of the amount. Inter account transfer is about R4.00 It is extremely rare that I visit a branch. I hardly ever use a cheque book.

I also use Absa, but they charge a monthly fee for the internet usage. The cost is also about the same as FNB for an EFT. Inter account transfer is no charge.I have never been to an Absa branch since I have had the account for some three years now.

Either one works, and the in contact for both is pretty reliable.

What I do note - if some one does an FNB EFT payment into my account between say 20H00 and 07H00 (out of banking hours), then the funds are in suspension until fairly late the next banking day - Absa it is immediately available 24/7

I found that Stranded bank is not the best when it comes to the in contact messaging, and rates are much higher depending on the package you take on.

[Chrisjan B]

Capitec I think is a good option for personal use, as a start.

[tec0]

Just stay away from ABSA bank they are horrible!!!!

[murdock]

i will be looking into both bussiness and personal...i need to find a bank with better rates than standard bank... i am with standard bank and boy they seem to be getting more expensive by the day...what i do just to remind me how expensive they are is to log in then go to history and the banking fee indicates what each transaction costs

for example a R350 debit order cost R6.96
eft R700 cost R9.46
to draw cash R200 cost R6.54
R1000 cost R14.70

then there is still service fee which changes every month but normally between
R300 and R500 per month

this is a bussiness cheque account.

[Justloadit]

Just stay away from ABSA bank they are horrible!!!!

Can you be more specific than just horrible.

All banks are horrible when they do not do what we think they are supposed to do.
We always think that the bank is there to help us, just remember they are a business, and they sell money, or more accurately, supply a service with access to money. Would you give your stock to a shaky customer on credit? So why do we expect the banks to be any different with their stock, which happens to be money.

I am not trying to defend the banks here, what I am trying to say is that we think that the banks are our friends and that they will part with their money when ever we need it, and when they do not do it, we complain about them.

[Chrisjan B]

Banks are one of the company's that is like 007 - licensed to steal.... one of my gripes is that they charges me R 9-85 to pay R 900-00 int o my own credit card via their own ATM. And no I am not moving to another bank - rather the devil I know than the devil I don't......... I am a not proud CUSTOMER of ABSA - or a a client. I have been working for them for 15 years before I resigned to start my own business, most possibly where my pet hate started....
Others are Telkom, cellphone company's etc.

[tec0]

Right you don’t get a “smart card” if you are a Cheque Account holder so you have no security against card cloning. Secondly there “investment” account is a joke you lose money for every deposit you make and it will take about a year to recover that money.

There banks are a complete mess-up you don’t get helped and the manager are NEVER available. There ATM’s are always “closed” on a weekend and they love to crash in the middle of a transaction “With a blue screen no joke!!!”

Other than that there internet banking and SMS system is a joke “the SMS takes forever to send you the authentication code and you get 2 codes so sometimes your transaction simply take too long and you have to restart the process”

And there helpline is anything but helpful.

[Justloadit]

Secondly there “investment” account is a joke you lose money for every deposit you make and it will take about a year to recover that money.

I must admit I do not deposit cash or cheques into my investment account, but do an internal EFT, and I checked, the receiving and source account there is no charge. They do charge me for the email to inform me that I have done, as part of the internet banking. I do get a few Rond a month on this account.

There banks are a complete mess-up you don’t get helped and the manager are NEVER available. There ATM’s are always “closed” on a weekend and they love to crash in the middle of a transaction “With a blue screen no joke!!!”

I may be lucky, as I pick up the phone and call my branch, and usually get helped quite quickly. I must admit that I do not use the ATMs so can not comment there.

Other than that there internet banking and SMS system is a joke “the SMS takes forever to send you the authentication code and you get 2 codes so sometimes your transaction simply take too long and you have to restart the process”
And there helpline is anything but helpful.

Do remember that the SMS engine which s controlled by the networks, are operated via email, so the delay may not be the bank, but the networks. I use email for my notifications, and must admit that that it has worked well for me, bar for one day that it was down a couple of months ago. My business is automated using this technology, and has been running successfully for a number of years, and I get 20 to 30 cash deposits into my account daily, and if my customers do not get their floats immediately my switchboard would light up.

[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