Monetary reforms have created a banking mismatch

BANK CHARGES in Zimbabwe are increasing even as experts worry that recent monetary reforms have created a mismatch between foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

Standard Chartered Zimbabwe said at the weekend that service charges will go up in September. The bank said services to be affected would include digital and physical banking.

It said bank account maintenance fees would go up from ZWL25 (R1.05) to ZWL45 per month, while initial issue and replacements for Visa gold cards would now cost ZWL75 from ZWL25.

Mobile Banking transaction fees such as funds transfer will go up from ZWL3 to ZWL5, while balance enquiries would surge from ZWL0.08 to ZWL0.80.

“In selecting these transaction types for fee review, we remain cognisant of the need to ensure that banking services remain affordable and accessible to all customer segments in a manner that is sustainable and ensures our ability to provide quality banking services into the future,” said the bank’s operations and service manager Edmore Mashara, adding that the bank relied on multiple external service providers to fulfil its obligations.

He said the external vendors had increased charges, thereby putting pressure on the bank to follow suit.

Insiders said the fees reviews were motivated by a need to protect the