The Tribune

The Central Bank of the Bahamas governor yesterday said the regulator had “no power” to control what commercial banks charged their customers for individual transactions, although she acknowledged Bahamian concerns over the “lack of transparency” on teller machine fees.

Wendy Craigg said the regulator was continuing to engage commercial banks on the issue, adding that the Central Bank had ordered all institutions to make their fees/charges schedule publicly available.

Mrs Craigg said: “We did receive numerous e-mails from the public expressing concerns about the level and lack of transparency of ATM/ABM fees. These are two areas that the Central Bank continues to engage the banks on, although we have no power to direct commercial banks to change the charges on individual transactions.

“Since 2013, in a bid to secure greater transparency, we have directed banks to make available on their premises, and their websites, a schedule of all fees and charges applicable to domestic banking products and services offered to the Bahamian public.

“We also continue to discuss with banks the need to ensure the reasonableness in the evolution of bank fees and charges. We will be actively pursuing with the Clearing Banks Association, the public’s suggestions for achieving greater transparency at the point of making an ATM transaction, as is typically the case with international banking machines.”
 Leah Davis, marketing manager at Scotiabank (Bahamas), while not commenting extensively on the issue, said that all of the bank’s rates and fees are published on its website as part of the Central Bank’s requirements.

A well-known Bahamian Facebook group has called on the Central Bank of the Bahamas to examine the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) fees levied locally when customers use the machines at another bank.

Members of Straight Up Talk have individually written to Mrs Craigg and the inspector of banks expressing concerns over the level of the transaction fees and lack of transparency.

The group is asking the Central Bank, as regulator of commercial banks, to explain whether these fees are regulated or not. Straight Up Talk also wants the banks to show the applicable fees on the ATM screen before a transaction is done, or post notices next to ATM machines showing fee schedules.

Finally, the group is asking the Central Bank to ensure the fees are fair and reasonable.