Chidanti,
Do Malawians really have to pay K400 per month for the online service to the bank? Koma abale ma bank kuba!!!! Where is their Corporate Social Responsibility? While most banks are encouraging this paper free service as a “Green” innitiative, its sad that our banks do not want to cut on unnecessary paper work by imposing prohibitive charges.The bank needs customers to use the online service more than customers themselves need the service. It reduces customers waiting time which reflects well on the bank. Reduces labour costs in the long-term whilst keeping stationery costs to a minimum, amongst other benefits. Therefore they should bear the cost than push it to non-suspecting customers. Now, when you look at this charge, 1,000 customers who use the online service for instance are paying the Bank K4.8m (four million and eight hundred thousand kwacha per year). This is fraud wrapped in technology offered by the banks.The Malawi government through its regulatory Authorities (Ministry of Finance and Reserve bank) is quiet over this fraudulent practice. Surely, the Banks are paying very little, if anything to the government in form of taxes as they claim capital allowances on some assets including computers which are imported duty free at the moment unless of course if things have changed since I have been outside the country.The worst is that despite all these high charges, poor Malawians still have to pay bank charges every month to keep the account going because they have no alternative. Surely, we all know how easier banking has become with the advent of computer technologies. While in the past the transactions were done manually, resulting in more work for bankers, the same is not true nowadays and yet banks used to charge ledger fees for current accounts. We know the banks have a justification for all these fees but surely, for a poor country like Malawi, we should not be exploited beyond the normal levels. When it comes to paying interests the banks do not pay anything while they keep their lending rates at an abnormal high.As long as these practices go unchecked the issue of economic liberation does not and will not make any sense to poor Malawians who have no alternatives to these exploitative tendencies. Surely we cannot continue to subsidize operations of the banks while at the same time they use our money to make more profits for themselves.
George
chidanti wrote:
Sometimes customers are asked to spend more by picking a phone and call the bank which sends statements through the email. am sure the systems admin knows that emails are not the safest way to send sensitive documents like bank statements in this world of hackers. as for today, it is completely not possible to access even the non updated statements. chikhalilecho they are chargging us K400 per month for the service, which service? tell us whats wrong, is it fire like celtel?to say nothing on the poorly designed website with very user unfriendly links.
chidanti.
Leave a Reply