Considering the top keywords and phrases in this thread so far, that is really interesting.
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I have done a cost comparison on FNB vs Standard for our accounts. It turns out in our case the service fee costs at FNB will be nearly half our service fee costs at Standard Bank - and that's without factoring in this new cheque deposit fee.
The down side of an FNB account is you are charged a R41.00 per month service fee just for having the account. Standard Bank has a minimum charge, but it doesn't take much activity to reach that fee so effectively there is no base cost.
Where FNB really starts gaining ground is the way they charge EFTs. It's a flat rate of R7.20 per transaction whereas Standard Bank charges R4.70 + 0.73% with a maximum charge of R18.30. So on an EFT payment of just R1000.00 the fee at FNB is R7.20 and at Standard it's R12.00
The break-even point is a payment of R342.47.
With debit card purchases, FNB charges a flat rate of R2.75 and Standard charges R4.15 + 0.67% with a maximum charge of R16.50.
This has become a very easy decision to make. We're moving.
Thanks Standard Bank for ticking me off with your new fee. You have just saved my companies a lot of money in bank charges.
Dave A (17-Jan-11)
Come on - there has to be a catch.
If Standard Bank is pleading poverty and has to invent new charges to cope, how the heck does FNB get the same job done so much cheaper?
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As matter of interest, can one pass those cheque processing fees directly to the client? I.e. can I force them to pay for it, if they insist on paying by cheque?
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If the client will accept the charge, I don't see a law or contract with the bank preventing it. You would have to disclose the charge upfront though, I think.
I suspect the biggest hassle would be pursuading the client to pay the charge, especially if it is only raised near the end of the deal.
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I'm sure I read / heard somewhere that we can't charge 5% credit card fees on top of sales price, so I'm curious if this is the same with cheque payments?
Our smallest hosting package is R15, so R12.50 bank fee on that is a killer and if a client insist on using a chequebook instead of EFT / Credit Card / Bank Deposit
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That is a standard condition in credit card merchant agreements. I'm not aware of any such clause in the TOS for current accounts.
Rudi, I'd seriously suggest you open a non-Standard Bank account rather than charge your clients a cheque deposit fee. You would be placing yourself at a distinct competitive disadvantage otherwise.
Last edited by Dave A; 17-Jan-11 at 08:35 PM.
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When we got our speedpoint from FNB we were told we can't charge more when charging a credit card, but we could offer a cash discount.
Now if you get a cash deposit in your FNB account you get charged a fee with a minimum on R17 odd. So now if customers want to deposit cash for the orders on paperkutz we insist they add the R17 to the order. We did a R30 order and got charged the R17. So just like you watch your cellphone account you have to watch your bank account.
Only stress when you can change the outcome!
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