South African banks charge the highest cash withdrawal fees beating 27 other countries according to debt management consultancy firm Accenture, the Business Day reported. It found that South African banks charge nearly $2 (R16.70) per transaction. In addition, the country also charged the highest branch withdrawal fees of $4.59 (R38.44).
However, 38% of South African consumers said they were satisfied with their main bank in spite of the high charges, which was higher than the global average satisfaction rate of 36%. But South African banks do try to be competitive said Vinolan Pillay an executive for banking at Accenture. “Recent banking price wars in South Africa resulted from calls for transparency around pricing and heated competition in the banking industry,” said Pillay.
However, consumers are not afraid to vote with their feet. Accenture’s consumer research survey of 10,000 customers in 27 countries found that, in South Africa, 55% of customers choose to shop for a better deal even if it means switching service providers. Of those surveyed 39% did not consider changing service providers a hassle.
“There is a war on for customer switching. A couple of years ago it was difficult to switch banks, now you can do it in 10 minutes,” added Pillay. The survey also found that, globally, there has been a decrease in switching banks.