BANKS are issuing assurances that they have introduced products which will allow customers to save on fees.

Scotiabank has also delayed planned fee increases for six months, while Jamaica National Bank indicates that fees that were implemented from 2020 still function to guide customer behaviour under pandemic conditions and further monies collected have been used to help in the vaccination drive.

JN also said it has also “invested in tools and technology to enable persons to access services remotely and conveniently”.

Scotiabank, for its part, announced on Monday January 31 that it will delay the implementation of the proposed fee increases for ATMs (automated teller machines) and points-of-sale (POS) machines for six months. The bank will also be expanding its Scotia Payroll Account, which was designed to assist customers earning less than $100,000 per month. The account types have no minimum balance requirement and attract no fees for proprietary ATM or POS transactions.

The bank said, “Our customers’ needs continue to be our priority and, in light of recent feedback regarding proposed fee increases, we have decided to make some adjustments. Scotiabank will expand the Payroll Account to any customer with a monthly income of less than $100,000, whether or not their pay is deposited to the account.”

Scotiabank also said it will also increase promotion of the Scotia Care, a similar account designed for customers who earn less than $100,000 per month and are also enrolled in government assistance programmes such as the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and WeCARE. Scotia Care Accounts also do not attract fees for proprietary ATM or POS transactions.

The bank noted that it has removed monthly deposit account fees and the introduction of real-time (pay as you go) billing for transaction fees.

It added that senior citizens account holders use Scotia ATMs and POS for free, all deposits (cash or cheque) made via any channel are free, all transactions conducted via mobile or online banking including bill payment and funds transfers to any local bank are free.

Customer first

JN Bank, in an e-mail to clients headlined ‘Committed to putting you first’, explained that fees introduced in 2020 were linked to the desire to guide customer behaviour.

The bank explained, “In order to maintain the safety of our members, and in response to the increasing concerns about the large number of persons who continued to converge on our branches, putting themselves and others at risk, we introduced a fee for some in-branch, person-to-person services where alternate channels to access these services are available at no charge.

“The fee was designed to influence behaviour change to reduce the risk of the pandemic spread, with the intent to utilise the proceeds to support community initiatives to contain the spread of the virus.”

It said that, to date, the JN Group has invested the proceeds from the fees in COVID-19 vaccination initiatives in targeted parishes, in partnership with the MOHW [Ministry of Health and Wellness]. The investment has amounted to approximately $20 million, with more than 1,700 Jamaicans having been vaccinated and thousands more educated about COVID-19.

The bank noted that it has helped the Ministry of Labour & Social Security to enable beneficiaries of the PATH programme to collect payments at its locations on Saturdays.

JN noted that investment in technology, which has benefited customers, include introducing card-less ATM transactions to facilitate the transfer of funds between members and customers across the island without charge. Expanding the JN Money card to enable customers to collect remittances at ATMs and in stores at point-of-sale terminals, expanding the ATM network across the island, setting up JN MoneyShops to take banking to small, underserved communities.

JMMB welcomes fee conversation

Amid the row between customers and commercial banks on the increase in fees against the background of the slow economic recovery and inflationary environment, JMMB Group Limited has welcomed the dialogue on fees charged by deposit-taking institutions (DTI) to transact services with their clients.

In a release sent to the Jamaica Observer, JMMB posited its stance on fairness and its guiding principles founded on love and standing in the best interest of all. This included listing four main principles around fees, which include no ‘nuisance’ fees, fees for cost recovery, fees for value-added services, and waiving fees when JMMB falls short of its service delivery.

With respect to its no ‘nuisance’ fees, JMMB outlined that it doesn’t charge a fee to deposit or withdraw funds from bank accounts in a JMMB Bank branch or apply an ATM fee to withdraw funds. It further added that it has never charged a dormant account fee which was a source of controversy in March 2017 that saw the larger market players suspend the charge.

Though it has no control over fees charged by other financial institutions on certain services like wire transfers, which are passed on to the customer, it currently absorbs the fees charged by other Visa-enabled ATMs when customers use their JMMB Visa debit card at those locations. This is in light of JMMB’s limited number of ATMs across the island, which recently received an upgrade.

The value-added services component charged to clients really relate to who utilises the portfolio management solutions offered by its investment arms. This can range from a management fee charged on the product portfolio like a unit trust or a management fee charged on the funds invested by a client.

With a focus on committing itself to customers, the JMMB Group waived certain fees in October 2020 when its Moneyline platform was down for longer than planned. This also included reimbursing clients who would have been impacted from being late to pay a third party from the disruption.

JMMB Bank is the latest commercial bank to join the sector after converting from a merchant bank in August 2017. Apart from a cash infusion of $2.7 billion over the last three years by its parent company, JMMB Bank has grown its balance sheet from $45.96 billion in March 2018 to $116.64 billion at the end of March 2021. JMMB Bank earned $401.28 million in fee income for its 2021 financial year and boasted a loan portfolio of $69.05 billion.

“Every year, JMMB actively reviews our fees, within the context of both our operations and the needs of our clients. Coming out of that annual review, fees are then removed, adjusted, or new fees added, all done in alignment with the guiding principle of fairness in how fees are set, our core value of love and having our clients’ best interest at heart. This is who we are as an organisation, and we will not change,” JMMB Group closed.