Westpac cuts fees

Business, Normal
Source:

The National

THE Westpac PNG Ltd is set to cut its fees on credit card and transaction accounts starting Oct 1.
“We recently reviewed our fees and felt it was the right thing to do to make reductions given the current economic climate,” General manager Westpac Banking Group Jane Kittel said.
“We are aware that some fees have proved to be  a particular burden for customers who are having difficulty managing their finances.
Our customers need us to help them to manage their finances including advice on best products to suit their needs and how to avoid bank fees,” Ms Kittel.
Westpac PNG managing director Ross Hammond said the new structure was simple and fair and many customers would benefit from the revised fee reductions.
“Our credit card over-limit fee and late-payment fee have both been reduced from K50 to K20 each.
“While our account-overdrawn fee for personal and business accounts remain at K15 and K20, respectively.
“Our outwards dishonour fee has been reduced from K110 to K50, which is set to cover costs of manually intensive process and notifying the customer of the issue,” Mr Hammond said.
“We want to make exception fees as transparent as possible and reflect the true cost of the activities associated with handling them.
He said it is not possible to be totally fee-free, but “we are confident that our customers will welcome the reductions”.
Westpac staff would work with customers to ensure such fees were minimised or avoided altogether, Mr Hammond said.