Bank earned 10 per cent of income from customer fees

ABOUT 10 per cent of Bank of South Pacific’s income comes from the fees it charges customers but these have dropped over the years, chief executive Robin Fleming says.

He said the revenue went back to the upkeep of the bank’s retail branches and electronic network like automated teller machines (ATMs) and Eftpos.

He was giving an overview of the reduction of bank fees.

The announcement was made last week.

“BSP is also eliminating its dormant account fee whereby customers have been charged a dormancy fee when they have not used their account for the past 12 months,” Fleming said.

“In conjunction with removing the dormant account fee, Bank South Pacific will also stop charging a reactivation fee for customers who commence using their accounts after more than 12 months of inactivity.”

The fee benefit for customers is approximately K920,000 per annum in total.

“Another fee that is being removed is the over-the-counter deposit fee for deposits to a customer’s own account,” he said.

“Whenever a customer makes a deposit . . . with their card using an Eftpos device at the teller counter, it will be fee free.

“This benefit to our customers will be approximately K3 million per annum.

“If someone deposits money to someone else’s account, the transfer fee will be K3 in lieu of a deposit fee.
“Other fees being eliminated by the bank South Pacific include the statement fee which will be a benefit of K1.2 million per annum for our customers, the personal loan settlement fee at a benefit of K600,000 per annum.

“And also the line fee for housing loan customers and residential property investment loan customers with the total benefit of K1.7 million per annum.

“Some other smaller fees are being reduced as well.

“No fees are being increased and there are no changes where a customer should be disadvantaged.

“BSP will continue to review its fees and its services to pass on any productivity benefits to our customers.

“It is also worth remembering that BSP does not require our customers to open account with a minimum of K50 as other banks do, and we also have a number of fee-free savings products.”

BSP is an iconic bank in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, recognised for its strong commitment to the region and its Melanesian uniqueness.

BSP has the largest branch network in Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu with many branches and sub branches.

Source: https://www.thenational.com.pg/