For a long time, consumers have complained about the state of our economy and how it’s changed the way banks make money. Instead of making their dough from interest on loans, banks now make most of their money from charges that you and I pay when we transact and for the upkeep of our accounts.
With this in mind, we contacted 14 commercial banks to get the latest charges for transactions. We compiled these charges over a year ago so this list is also a good reflection of the changes since then:
PS: The charges in the table exclude the 2% IMT tax
| Bank | POS fees (transactions below $10) | POS fees (transactions below $20) | POS fees (transactions above $10) | POS fees (transactions above $20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agribank | $0.20 | $2 | ||
| BancABC | $0.50 | $3 | ||
| CABS | 0.5% (min $0.40 – max $6 ) | 0.5% (min $0.40 – max $6 ) | ||
| CBZ | 2.5% (min $3.00 – Max $25.00) | 2.5% (min $3.00 – Max $25.00) | ||
| EcoBank | 1% of the transaction value | 1% of the transaction value | ||
| FBC | $0.20 | $0.74 | ||
| FirstCapital | $0.30 | $1.00 | ||
| Metbank | * $1.35 min – $5 max (* thresholds not specified) | * $1.35 min – $5 max (* thresholds not specified) | ||
| Nedbank | $0.50 | $2.50 | ||
| NMB | $0.50 | $0.50 | $1.85 | |
| StanBic | $0.20 | 0.5% – minimum $0.50 and maximum $10.00 | 0.5% – minimum $0.50 and maximum $10.00 | |
| Standard Chartered | $0.19 | $0.85 | $0.85 | |
| Steward | $0.80 | $1.65 + 0.05% of transaction value | ||
| ZB | $0.93 | $0.93 | $0.93 | $0.93 |
Changes
Last year when reviewing these charges Standard Chartered was the only bank not charging clients for transacting in shops. As you can see in the table above that’s no longer the case even though they have some of the lower charges.
Suggestions for the banks
When compiling these charges it became clear to me that banks need to have these charges on their websites because a few banks actually had customer support agents who just didn’t know what the current charges are. We complained about transparency last year as well which suggests most banks aren’t particularly concerned with full transparency when it comes to what they are charging clients.
In this regard, their mobile money competition has served consumers far better with prominent notices and charge sheets which are available and usually updated on their websites.
Also, some of the banks don’t have toll-free lines – you could call and not get the information you need as a customer which is not only irritating but also expensive. Kudos to Stanbic who had the charges on their site and were also quick to respond via social media.
Finally, it would be great if all banks had a WhatsApp line where customers can reach them at a fraction of the cost. It seems CBZ is the only bank that had an easy-to-find WhatsApp contact. I’m not sure if the other banks don’t have WhatsApp at all or if the WhatsApp contacts are harder to find.
Comments
20 responses
Steward Bank has all of the communication channels you mentioned and their charges are on their website so I think they deserve a mention too… Thanks for the article, now I can make a better decision on which bank to use…
Hey I checked on their website. I must have missed it
You’re welcome! I must’ve missed the charges on Steward’s site. You’re the 2nd person to note that they are there. Thanks for that
Welcome, can’t blame you, struggled to find them the first time. They are tucked away in a pdf file titled something like “business conditions”. Steward surely can do better to bring it upfront
I agree but equally could’ve put more effort checking for it before calling them out lol
No Bank is “fully” transparent when it comes to bank charges, Farai. They only publish the most obvious charges.
If you are given the full list of charges you won’t even bother to open that account in Zim lol.
“Hidden” charges are normally deducted at the end of each month, together with the obvious charges like account maintenance etc.
My business projects have several accounts with different banks and we are very much used to such fees.
That might be the case but when it comes to charges for transacting businesses/individuals would benefit greatly by having access to this information in an easier manne
Thanks for this article, I would also like to highlight charges for sending a text notification to a customer informing one that a transaction has taken place and that the remaining balance is such.
Also worth noting is that the business conditions for Steward Bank do not show swipe charges. I have engaged them with regards to that.
Please note that I was advised by a person in control at Steward Bank that ZimSwitch charges were being reviewed on the 15th of October and therefore that would affect swipe charges. The charges above are incorrect for STEWARD BANK and are actually $1.65 + 0.50% of the transaction for transactions done on SB POS machines and $2.05 + 0.05% for other POS machines.
Thanks
With lawlessness in zim they do as they please
Honestly CBZ so much trust betrayed
My friend there is a difference between charges banks publicize and what they actually charge. I agree, CBZ is among the most expensive.
But the CBZ upper limit is $25. With Steward Bank there is no upper limit. If you swipe $20k they will charge you $100 + $1.65
Steward Bank doesn’t charge that little Farai. I calculated from transactions I did with that bank before: I think it’s 0.05% flat even for very big amounts which gets to be very ridiculous
Thanks!
I like the vibe in comments. E.g the way ‘corrections’ are put across. No hate speech wat wat. Im happy.
Biggest disappointment re:communication wise is NBS. When you do call to ask such important infor you are put on hold for so long you end up hanging up and they do not bother replying on Twitter. Maybe a course in communication for their employees will help.
That’s tragic. But when they take your money they’re never sluggish🤣
FBC whatsapp contact 0772419693
Banc Abc whatsapp contact 0782706922
Thanks a ton for this 💪🏾
Right now Stewart bank is charging me more that 5 dollars for any amount higher than 10dollars Eish they are stealing