No free lunch for debit cards
11/2/2004 16:50
From 24 o'clock of the February 15, people have to pay 10 yuan
(US$1.2) in annual fees for its debit cards with the Agricultural Bank of China
(ABC), as part of the bank's move to stop offering free financial services,
according to the Shanghai branch of the ABC, the Shanghai Morning Post reported
today.
Besides the annual fees, clients applying for debit cards with the
bank must pay five yuan, and those reporting the loss of their cards have to pay
10 yuan in commissions.
The new service charge standard only covers bank
card business currently, and it still needs a period of time for issuing the
charging standard for other financial services, said the spokesman with the
local branch of ABC.
Besides adding charges, the bank also lowers the fees in
some services, according to the bank.
To date, other banks are still holding
a wait-and-see attitude. "Collecting fees is likely to cause discontent among
clients, so our headquarter bank is very cautious in taking any moves," said a
spokesman with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's local
branch.
The small and mid-sized banks also took no action. Small banks are
more likely to offer free services in order to attract more clients, said an
industry analyst.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
|
