A report on the banking sector has revealed the banks with the highest account charges in the country.
The report showed that Standard Chartered Bank’s current account customers pay the highest maintenance and transaction costs among Kenya’s big banks.
Standard Chartered’s ordinary current account was found to be the most expensive among the 11 sampled – coming with a yearly running cost of Sh13,460 or an average of Sh1,120 per month.
The report contained a two-year survey of the local banking market by Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya.
In some banks, staff would make an effort to sell to customers a charged account even when they specifically asked for a tariff-free option.
“A customer who withdraws twice per month, transfers money once a month and pays for basic account maintenance (ledger fees, mini-statements, card replacements) can pay between Sh3,629 to Sh13,460,” said FSD in its annual report for 2016.
Barclays’ Ultimate account and Stanbic’s Smart Banking account charge about Sh12,000 and Sh10,000 per year respectively, placing them among the most expensive when it comes to account charges.
Co-operative Bank’s salary account and KCB’s Jiinue and Bankika accounts were, however, found to attract the lowest annual charges of below Sh4,000.
“The major difference between accounts depends on the fixed “account maintenance” costs. While many banks offer a pay-as-you-go option for their key retail accounts, some offer only premium solutions with relatively higher monthly ledger fees.”