Most of us have one, if not more, banking accounts out of necessity. The companies we worked for probably required us to open an account with Maybank. Our Mortgage account probably required us to have a current account with them the moment we start our monthly repayments. We probably even opened an account that is tied to our credit card so we can pay our monthly debts conveniently.

However, having so many bank accounts might not necessarily be a good thing, especially if you do not have any ‘substantial’ amount in these accounts. Most banks will charge you a maintenance fee if you do not meet their minimum deposit requirement. And if you accidentally issued a cheque without sufficient balance, you will be slapped with a penalty fee of around RM100 for the ‘bounce’ cheque. Also, if your account becomes dormant, you might even need to activate it with a fee. I still remember back when I was a kid, cheque books are free, but it’s now RM7.50 for 50 pieces of cheque, plus Courier Fees if you want it delivered. And let’s not forget, we are even required to pay a fee withdrawing our own money from the bank!

All these fees can really accumulate without you realizing it. In the US, banks are already making quite a hefty sum from these invisible fees.

Banks, of course, aren’t giving up those revenues without a fight. Instead, industry leaders like Bank of America Corp. (BAC – News), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC – News), HSBC Holdings PLC’s HSBC North America (HCS – News), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB – News) and others are experimenting with new ways to nick their customers, from imposing maintenance fees on checking accounts to rolling out new charges for services like fraud alerts, debit cards and credit reports.

Making matters trickier, while the banks must disclose the new fees fully, they likely will do so only in the ordinary-looking correspondence that most consumers toss in the trash without reading. The result: Many people will learn of the new charges only after opening their monthly statements.

Continue reading “The New Bank Fees: How to Fight Back” on Yahoo Finance…

When our relationships get too dependent and complacent with these banks, they can really start charging any fees they want. We might even get slapped with a fee for paying our bills online. Ouch!

However, as a banking consumer, we are not in an entirely helpless predicament. One of the most effective ways to get what you want is to ‘threaten’ these banks, not physically but using their existing communication channels. I usually get away without paying the annual fee for my credit cards by telling them I would like to cancel my card because of the annual fee. It worked 100% of the time :-D

In another case, with proper documentation of your banking documents, you can also save up on various fees. A few months back, I issued a cheque without sufficient balance, and I managed to get the Branch Manager to waive the RM100 penalty fee by providing all the transaction records and the proof that my account did not have the required balance simply because I wasn’t aware that the bank would deduct RM10.00 out of the account that month. Ever since then, I made sure that I don’t issue a cheque that leaves less than RM10.00 in the account.

Most Banks in Malaysia are still very approachable and friendly to their customers (unless you have a long overdue debt with them). You can still get a lot of flexibility by building a good credit record with your branch and it surely helps if you maintain a good relationship with the bank employees where you usually do most of your banking activities.

Vampires or not, as a consumer, we can always practice a little more due diligence when choosing a bank to work with. As long as there are choices around, we can always give our business to someone who will appreciate it.

On a lighter note, you can still get some Toy Story 3 merchandise when you open a junior account with CIMB (but don’t forget to read the fine prints!).

DISCLAIMER: CIMB did not pay me for this post. I just happen to dig all the animations produced by Pixar and I’ve never missed any one of it on the big screen.

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