No more cheque fees

 By GYNNIE KERO

BANK South Pacific will this month remove the K3.50 service fee charged on the deposit and processing of cheques, chief executive officer Robin Fleming says.  

He said the bank’s decision to eliminate the fee and pass benefits to customers followed the introduction of the Kina Automated Transfer System (KATS) by Bank of Papua New Guinea.

Last month, Bank of Papua New Guinea declared the KATS fully operational.

The system as understood will help cheque processing faster and accurate with electronic processing using imaging technology rather than paper.

Fleming yesterday said the KATS was effective in all BSP branches across the country.

“In the past if you put a cheque in your bank account, it would have been charged K2.50, if processed to another level it would have been charged another K1,” he said.

“We are eliminating those cheque collection fees and pass onto some other benefits which we (BSP) achieve with the KATS system.

“The system is already in effect countrywide.

 “Following the introduction of the system (KATS), the cheque clearance times have reduced. At one stage if you presented in Port Moresby a cheque to be withdrawn by a customer in Wewak it, normally it takes 10 days. Now cheque clearance around the country is standardised at four days.” 

In light of customers’ queries of being unable to withdraw K20 notes at the bank’s ATMs, Fleming said:“It is to do with getting good quality K20 notes in all ATMs. There are only selected ATMs in NCD which we only have K50s and K100 notes … not all ATMS.”

He said customers could use other channels such as the EFTPoS terminals to buy and get cash.

He pointed out that the merchants were not supposed to have charge any fees when customers approach them to use the EFTPoS terminals.

“EFTPoS is cheaper for people to use and not come to the ATMs.

“We continue to talk with merchants; they are not supposed to charge any fees,” Fleming said.