Minimising Your Banking Fees

They go off in tiny little bits and pieces, but add them all up at the end of just one year and you’ll very quickly realise just how significant bank fees are. Sure, some of these fees are unavoidable and are in a sense instituted as a means through which your bank collects remuneration for the financial service they’re offering, but there are a whole lot of other fees which you just shouldn’t be paying.

I mean how does an extra 200-400 quid per year at your disposal sound? It doesn’t sound like much, does it? However, I’m pretty sure you can think back to many a scenario wherein just an extra £5-£10 pounds would have come in very handy. Such situations can be avoided by applying some simple bank fee minimisation practices which don’t take all that much effort at all.

Pay With Your Card

Yes, this is perhaps the very early beginnings of the financial sector trying to do away with cash, but the truth of the matter is paying with your bank card via the shop’s point-of-sale system works out to your advantage as well. Number one, you don’t have to deal with the risks associated with carrying physical cash, like getting mugged or having your pocket picked.

Number two, it costs nothing to pay with your card! Yes, nothing at all. The amount you see rung up on the till slip is the exact amount charged to your bank account. Make a habit of swiping your card instead of first drawing cash at the ATM and you’ll avoid what can add up to hefty cash withdrawal fees. Even purchases made with prepaid cards like pre-loaded MasterCards incur no transaction fees if you pay with the card itself instead of first drawing cash at the ATM. This applies internationally too, for the most part, if no currency conversion fees are charged by the prepaid card issuer.

Withdraw Less Frequently

Again, it’s perhaps a security risk withdrawing, stashing and carrying around large amounts of cash, but if you really can’t use your card to complete POS payments then you’re subjecting yourself to ATM withdrawal charges which I really believe are unnecessary.

Yes, some banking service plans have quota systems in place, where withdrawal fees are reduced based on how frequently you withdraw, but I don’t know – paying in little bits and pieces still adds up quite considerably in the end.

Review Your Banking Service

One banking institution offers different plans and packages for their clients, but it’s really up to you to make sure you’re on the right plan for you. Do you really need a current account for example if you use it as more of a savings account than anything else? Do you really need a cheque account with the credit and overdraft facilities that come with the issued credit card if you never buy on credit?

Banks make most of their money through lending and derivatives, so if you just take the time to look a little closer, you can quite easily save a lot on your banking fees.

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