I think that's not going to work either. It now seems very clear this is an established policy, not a mistake or misinterpretation.

I've just got off a fairly lengthy phonecall with Rita at the Complaints Resolution Centre. Their position is that Citibank N.A. is a local branch of a foreign bank and that Standard Bank has to do a lot of additional work to clear these cheques. She wouldn't be drawn on what this additional work might entail, but they will be raising the foreign draft fee in these situations and that's the end of it.

That got me thinking what other banks might attract this fee on their ZAR cheques. Doing a bit of research, I found this list of banks registered with the SA Reserve Bank. If you click on the registered branches link you'll find a list of banks which fall in the same category as Citibank N.A. (For anyone who ever wondered why frames have a bad reputation when it comes to website design, this particular application demonstrates the potential design flaw quite well).

The only angle left was the lack of notification. Rita wasn't having any of that either. The fee is on their rates card (undeniably true). However, she disagreed with me that clients should have been notified of this change of application of the fee.

May I commend Rita for clearing that up in my head, and to recommend you take Rita's advice - "You are free to deposit these cheques elsewhere."

Let's hope the other banks don't follow Standard Bank's lead on this anytime soon.