Banks raise service fees, Cama cries foul
Some commercial banks have hiked services fees effective January 1 this year, which means customers will have to pay more for a number of services.
Published statements from First Capital Bank plc, Standard Bank plc, NBS Bank plc and National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc show various upward adjustments on services.
For instance, a NBM customer will have to pay K11 100 for a 50-paged cheque book, up from K9 800 last year while NBS Bank plc current account customers will have to part with K10 500 for a 50-paged cheque book from K9 600.
NBS Bank plc customers with savings accounts will be paying K5 000 per page for an account statement up from K4 600.
The banks have also hiked other services such as processing fees for personal loans, account closure fees, cash withdrawals, new cards and card replacement and commission on foreign notes sales and purchases, among others.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito has decried numerous banks fees that are passed on to the customers, saying they are a stumbling to banking.
He said: “The fees that we pay banks in numerous ways to access various products and services brings down the appetite for saving with banks.”
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry has also bemoaned the high cost of borrowing.
