The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

CLEARING Banks Association chairman Gowon Bowe said that basic banking accounts, which Central Bank governor John Rolle identified as one potential solution to concerns about bank fees, would primarily benefit a small segment of society: unskilled workers, students, and the elderly.

He said people eligible for these accounts typically have low savings, averaging around $5,000, and exhibit low transaction volumes, indicating they do not frequently use their accounts for deposits, withdrawals, or investments.

He said the anti-money laundering risk designation for such people would be considered low risk.

They are, he said, “low dollar, low volume, low-risk persons that would then have a capped fee because effectively their sophistication and their level of actual banking activity is limited”.

He added: “We want them in the banking system, as opposed to feeling it’s too expensive and then trying to keep the money under the mattress, which is not advantageous for them.”

Governor Rolle highlighted on Monday that basic bank accounts have been embraced by many European and Caribbean countries.

However, Mr Bowe said while banks do not oppose offering such a facility –– as some already do –– less than ten percent of the population would benefit from it.

“The terms and conditions of those bank accounts really set out no different from the average or the standard banking terms as it relates to the legal conditions,” he noted. “The only thing that differs is the criteria and who’s eligible, in terms of setting that out and then an agreement on the fees not being able to be changed or adjusted and increased without the proper notification to the regulator and publication of the fees.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told The Tribune yesterday that he will meet representatives from the banking sector soon, adding that the initiative to address fees had not yet been placed on his agenda.

“The challenge is that we have to find ways and means of reducing fees to customers and banks,” he said. “And it does not necessarily mean moving rapidly to technology, embracing all technological solutions because by doing so, you might be leaving a lot of Bahamians behind.”

On Monday, Governor Rolle emphasised that embracing digitisation is key to addressing the structural issues that banks face.