How To Save On Bank Fees and Charges?
Perhaps once in your life, you were told by your parents to be thrifty and frugal because life is hard.
Most of you were told to save some money in the bank so you can have something to use in case of an emergency.
You may have retained the habit of saving a portion of your monthly income to the bank.
You do this maybe because you wanted to buy something in the future or you do this as an investment to grow your money.
But some of you may not be aware that some bank fees and charges eat up whatever interest or dividend you earn from the money you keep in the bank.
Here are some ways to save on bank fees and charges.
- Be Aware of the Service Fees
- Be aware of the required minimum maintaining balance
- Update your deposit account regularly
- Use Your Bank’s Own ATM Machines
- Balance your account as often as you make transactions
Be Aware of the Service Fees
You must know the fees and charges that your bank deducts from your account in case of
- Dormancy
- Excess Withdrawal
- Closing Your Account
- Interbank Transaction Fee
- Overdraft Fees
By knowing the fees and charges, you can better manage your account.
Say for instance that your first 3 ATM withdrawal from your bank’s own ATM machine for a given month is free of charge and at the 4th and succeeding withdrawals you will be charged P10.
Having knowledge of these extra fees will force you to wait for the next month before you withdraw again or you will limit yourself to just 3 withdrawal each month.
Be aware of the required minimum maintaining balance
There are banks offering no minimum monthly maintaining balance which is good and in fact, must be one of the criteria you must look for when considering opening a savings or checking account.
In the event that your bank charges you a penalty or fee for maintaining a balance below the minimum required, you must be aware of this fact at all times to be able to maintain your balance above the minimum.
You may also want to take note of the required minimum balance to earn interest, as this may be different from the required minimum maintaining balance.
Update your deposit account regularly
Make sure that you update your deposit account regularly.
Under BSP regulations, if a savings/current deposit account is left “sleeping” with no transactions (deposits or withdrawals) for a period of two (2) years or one (1) year, it becomes dormant and is subject to a dormancy fee.
To keep your account active and to avoid this fee, make it a habit to regularly make deposits even in small amounts.
However, if this is not possible, it is best to just close your deposit account before the dormancy sets in, no matter how small or big your deposit balance. In this way, you will not lose your hard-earned money to dormancy fees.
Use Your Bank’s Own ATM Machines
You must know the locations of your bank’s ATM machines in your locality. Withdraw your money only in these ATM machines.
Withdrawing money at other bank’s ATM machines will subject your account to a charge.
You must be aware of other bank’s ATM in your locality and try to know the bank which charges the lowest ATM transaction fee and withdraw in these machines in the event your own bank’s ATM is not available or off-line.
Balance your account as often as you make transactions
If you maintain a checking account, balance your account as often as you make transactions like
- When You Make a Deposit
- When You Make a Withdrawal
- When You Issue a Check
It is very important to know how much money you have in your account at all times in order not to “bounce checks”.
Typical fees for a check written against insufficient funds range from P1,000.00 to P2,000.00.
Think of how much you can possibly save if you make sure that the checks you issued are always funded.
Don’t have a savings account yet? Open an account now and save money for your future.
There are banks in the Philippines that do not require a maintaining balance and some require a minimal amount of initial deposit and even a few banks offer no initial deposit which is great.
Once you open one, don’t forget to save on bank fees and charges.
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