As deposit-taking institutions (DTI) continue to hike interest rates on existing and new loans, customers will now see a new round of increases and decline in free services in the next month.

Consumers were already seeing their wallets shrink further between higher food prices and increasing cost to service their loans and insure those items. However, as loan growth slows, trading opportunities diminish and deposits become more expensive, DTIs are now turning to other avenues to shore up revenue. This also comes against the backdrop of Basel III to be implemented later this year which has been described by several executives as a radical gamechanger for the sector.

JN Bank Limited, Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) and JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited are the latest banks to signal to customers an increase in service fees to be adjusted on May 26, May 30 and June 15, respectively. This comes against the backdrop of all three also adjusting their interest rates on their customers with variable rate loans over the next two months.

“Over the past three years, dramatic rises in interest rates, inflation, and other costs locally and globally, have led to an increase in the cost of providing services. Therefore, it became necessary to review our rates and fees, and effective May 26, 2023, there will be an adjustment to fees for some of our services,” said JN Bank in an e-mail sent to customers.

JN customers who used to enjoy free withdrawals via JN ATMs will now have four free transactions per month and be subject to a $30 fee thereafter. Other affected fees include chequing account services, replacements of debit and credit cards and a range of other items listed on their website.

JMMB Bank’s fee adjustments largely affect international transactions with their RTGS fee charge now moving from $50 to $70. VMBS’ in branch services including cash withdrawals up to $100,000 and other services have gone up with the cash withdrawal going from $150 to $300. Other banks such as Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited adjusted their fees on April 14. These fee increases around cash also come at a time when security and courier transport companies have hiked fees by 30 per cent and 40 per cent in the last three months.

The fees and commissions earned by the different commercial banks include:

National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCBJ) — $23.5 billion earned for its financial year (FY) ending September 30, 2022. Total assets of $834.77 billion as at September 2022.

Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited (BNS) — $17.21 billion earned for its FY ending October 31, 2022. Total assets of $492.86 billion as at October 2022.

Jamaica National Bank Limited (JN Bank) — $1.82 billion earned for its FY ending March 31, 2022. Total assets of $236.46 million as at March 2022.

Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited (SBJ) — $6.19 billion earned for its FY ending December 31, 2022. Total assets of $192.49 billion as at December 2022.

FirstCaribbean International (Jamaica) Limited (FCIB) — $1.01 billion for its FY ending October 31, 2022. Total assets of $142.43 billion as at October 2022.

JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited (JMMB) — $868.04 million for its FY ending March 31, 2022. Total assets of $149.06 billion as at March 2022.

First Global Bank Limited (FGB) — $1.87 billion for its FY ending December 31, 2022. Total assets of $72.63 billion as at December 2022.

Citibank NA — $154.33 million for its FY ending December 31, 2022. Total assets of $29.13 billion as at December 2022.

The accounts listed in the photo are saving accounts reflecting the fees to be charged as of June 15 for the main DTIs that offer retail banking. Each bank charges fees on some items or gives waivers to a point on some services.

ACH (automated clearing house) allows for transfers between banks under $1 million and is operated by JETS Limited while RTGS (real time gross settlement) is operated by the Bank of Jamaica and comes at cost on both sending and receiving between two DTIs. ACH is slower and is usually done at two specific windows in the day while RTGS has a cut-off around 2 pm.

In branch withdrawal — JN Bank charged the highest fee of $1,000 to withdraw funds in branch once it is below $100,000 or $200 once above $100,000. FGB charges $400 once it’s below $500,000 and $1,200 or 0.2 per cent (whichever is higher) for larger cash handling charges.

While these associated services with regular accounts have gone up, commercial banks have also encouraged customers to check out low risk KYC (Know Your Customer) accounts which tend to have lower associated fees. All that’s needed is a government-issued ID, a Tax Registration Number and the opening amount. NCBJ’s Quick Save, BNSJ’s Payroll Account and FGB’s Starter Account have no minimum balance fees, fees for withdrawals and transactions at proprietary point of sale (POS) terminals and a debit card.