2016-07-01Staff Report 2 Windhoek Bank Windhoek yesterday confirmed its new fee structure, which becomes effective as from today, July 1. “Bank Windhoek’s approach of ensuring customers always get value for their money when it comes to banking costs was a key driver in the annual review of our fees”, said managing director Baronice Hans. “As a co-creator of the Namibian Code of Banking Practice, Bank Windhoek embraces the principle of transparency when it comes to fees for products and services and, therefore, is committed to disclose these fully… As the financial partner of our clients, we want our clients to make informed decisions when managing their bank accounts and when using our products and services. “Our ultimate aim is to make banking easy, affordable and accessible. We would, therefore, like to encourage our clients to contact their Bank Windhoek branch, to enquire or obtain any additional information on our annual fee increase”, she said. The bank’s mobile app’s fees remain mostly unchanged from the previous year, except for beneficiary and third party payments on the app, which increased by 2.53 percent. In an effort to encourage and promote use of the bank’s electronic channels, all prices related to cellphone banking and internet banking remain unchanged from last year. Additionally, the IBank administration fee for individuals has been made free of charge. The SMS notifications for IBank activity and transactions remain free, thereby empowering customers to be constantly informed of all activity on their transaction accounts and reduce the risk of losses due to fraudulent transactions. “We would like to encourage our clients to make use of electronic channels, such as our mobile app, cellphone banking and internet banking (IBank), as transactions on these channels are cheaper to use compared to conducting over-the-counter transactions. Bank Windhoek’s individual and business clients with an annual turnover of N$1 million or less continue to benefit from free cash deposits at all branches. Banking fees and charges are cited as one of the reasons why some Namibians do not have bank accounts. With the waiving of cash deposit fees for all individual clients, Bank Windhoek believes more people will open bank accounts and enjoy the benefits that come with the access to financial services and products. The zero cash-handling fee also benefits small and medium enterprises with a turnover of less than N$1 million. Solo clients (youth under the age of 19 years) will still enjoy free ATM withdrawals at Bank Windhoek ATMs and free Point-of-Sale transactions and lower monthly service fees. The bank’s SeniorSave clients (aged 55 years and older) do not pay a monthly service fee and continue to benefit from free ATM withdrawals at Bank Windhoek ATMs and free Point-of-Sale transactions. 2016-07-01Staff Report 2
