John, a farmer from Manchester, sells his cow to avoid praedial larceny and puts the proceeds in the bank for a rainy day. Five years later, John returns to the bank to withdraw the money to bury his mother. He is shocked to discover that due to dormancy fees on the account, there is no money to bury his mother.

Then there is Duane. He is a gardener in Stony Hill. His employer pays him $2,000 by cheque for gardening work. Duane has to take a $500 taxi to the bank to cash the cheque and pay a $385 fee for standing in the line and using a teller.

These are the stories shared by Opposition Member of Parliament Fitz Jackson during a Banking Fees Symposium hosted by The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) at Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston last week. Chaired by economist Dr Damien King head of CaPRI, the panel included Scotiabank Jamaica CEO David Noel and Michael Diamond from National Consumers’ League.

The audience was outraged at some stories of banking fees and shared horror story after horror story. Why, the audience asked, are banks so heartless as to try to earn money from ordinary, hard-working Jamaicans through charges such as dormancy fees and fees to cash cheques and stand in line for a teller?

Noel explained, “Over the last year we have listened to our customers’ complaints about challenges with the fee structure and took the initiative to rework many of our fees. These changes were implemented mid-year 2017. We are now seeing the benefits to our customers in the results from our Q1 finances, as we notice a reduction in revenues from banking fees of 31 per cent on our retail accounts when compared to the same period in 2017.”

Bankers from JN Bank and JMMB Bank were also vocal in the emotionally charged event.

And this is the challenge of the term financial inclusion.

According to the World Bank, financial inclusion is defined as, “individuals and businesses having access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs — transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance — delivered in a responsible and sustainable way”.

Based on observation of the rolling emotions of the attendees to the Terra Nova-held symposium, there could be actually three definitions of financial inclusion.

First, there is the idea that financial inclusion means that all bank services should be offered to all people and banks should put a cap on their earnings and that there should not be a fee for every interaction with consumers and that people should “get a break”.

Second, there is the idea that financial inclusion is a mindset. Rather than expect hand-holding from the banks, consumers should educate themselves and demand what they want from a bank, negotiating every step of the way and protesting against fees they believe are unfair.

Third, the idea of financial inclusion is that, again, consumers bear the responsibility for becoming more comfortable with technology so that they get information delivered to them and can avoid banking fees altogether.

The idea that financial inclusion and the avoidance of bank fees could be managed through the Internet was advocated by Noel and, based on this reporter’s observation, soundly rejected by the crowd.

In the opening of this article we shared the story of the farmer and the gardener; members of the audience rejected the idea of technology as these two gentlemen, some members suggested, represented the typical Jamaican who would not use technology and would hence be subject to heavy bank fees and be financially excluded.

Noel held his ground and shared with the audience the changes made in his bank:

1. We have made significant investments in creating a range of electronic channels, such as ATMs, online/mobile and point-of-sale machines to provide low or no-cost options for customers to optimise their experience and minimise bank fees.

2. We have also rolled out free Wi-Fi in all our branches to facilitate access to these channels.

3.Online transactions include bill payments, purchase of foreign exchange, mobile top-up, and fund-transfers to any local commercial bank.

4.If you are already paying for Internet or mobile access, why not maximise its usage and save the costs of banking fees?

5.All online transactions are free.

6.Never transact in a savings account. To save on fees, transfer funds for free using Scotia Online or the mobile app from your savings account to your electronic access account, then transact from that account.

Again, the audience was not having it. In fact, after Noel finished, King was forced to defend the source of funding for CaPRI as members of the audience accused King of taking money from sponsors to provide data that did not compare all the banking fees across Jamaica.

Of course, King, quite adamantly, explained that CaPRI is an unbiased institution that is primarily funded by The University of the West Indies.

Finally, one audience member suggested that after the Government and CaPRI complete their investigation of user bank fees they investigate gas stations also, as petrol prices seem to vary widely across the island with no apparent explanation.