The overdrawn account fee has long since been one of, if not the most, hated banking fee. Ironically, the whole concept of charging your customer a fee for not having enough money in the account to cover another expense is an oxymoron which has gone on for far too long.
What the majority of lenders fail to realise is that the customers who have been charged this fee are the same customers who are most in need of the bank’s leniency and assistance. Many Australians are finding the current GFC hitting them hard and their debts are rising all too quickly without the Banks adding to their problems.
At last one lender, the NAB, has decided to abolish this fee as of October 1st. Interestingly, the NAB spokespeople have been adamant that this is a genuine attempt to assist customers and the lost revenue – estimated to be $100 million pa – will not be re-couped in undetected other areas.
If this is so then the NAB deserve to be applauded. Not only for looking to customers interests above their own bottom line but also because in taking this stance, it is helping to place considerable pressure on the other lenders.
Westpac and ANZ have scrambled to keep up with the fallout from the NAB announcement, belatedly stating their own intention to drop their overdrawn fees down to $9. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, it still falls short of the NAB’s example of completely eliminating the unwanted fee.