BANKS WITH THE MOST EXPENSIVE BANK CHARGES FOR SME’S

The bank rates vary across categories, with others being excessively expensive in certain services and cheaper in others.

By Phesheya Mkhonta

Choosing which bank to use for your small business is not a decision that must be taken lightly. There are a number of factors that must be taken into account. For purposes of this article, Inside Biz Magazine has done a bit of research on the bank account rates for small medium enterprises (SME’s) in the country.

Banks essentially play a major role in an SME’s life, from the fees charged to even the possibility of funding, when a business comes across cash flow challenges. Running a small business is a costly exercise. For instance, should you go with FNB Eswatini which charges E100 for opening a business account or Nedbank Eswatini which has scrapped the fee altogether, or should you go with FNB Eswatini when it comes to monthly loan administration fees as they are cheaper than Nedbank Eswatini. Therefore, it is imperative to know exactly what you want to get from your bank and what that service will cost you in service fees or bank charges.

We have looked at how the country’s four commercial banks compare on various transactions, focusing specifically on the basic needs of business owners. The information has been sourced from the different banks websites.

Here is how the four banks compare on four selected service charges:

	FNB	Nedbank	Standard Bank	Eswatini Bank
Opening of Business Account	E100.00	Free	E50.00 (SME current account)	Min. E30
Monthly Service Fee	E83.00 (business cheque account)	E42.00 – E150.00 (SME current account)	E33.00 (SME current account)	E139.40
Own bank ATM Withdrawal Fee	E1.35 per E100	E50.00	Min. E2930 (upto E2000). Min E53.45 (above E4000)	Min. E49.00 Max. E111.00 (below E4000). Min. E128.20 (Above E4000)
Bank Loan Monthly Administration Fee	E35.00	E70.00	E78.50	Min. E119.00