Stretch your bank account in 2014
Stretch your bank account in 2014 7th January 2014 – The New Year is upon us as well as financial hangover of the festive season. Make reviewing your bank account a priority this year and you will be pleasantly surprised how using your bank account smartly can benefit you. “When most people think about their bank account they probably think it is a necessary means to get money in and out, but your bank account may just be the key to saving a bit of money every month this year,” says Innocent Hlungwani, CFO of Smart Transactional Banking. “By choosing the right account, investigating what you get with this account including its rewards and banking smartly, you may surprise yourself and end up saving.”
Make friends with your account
First and foremost you need to understand what bank account you currently have and what it can do for you.
“There are many different types of bank accounts, and if you don’t know what yours is, or what it allows you to do, this should be the first thing that you find out,” says Hlungwani. “How you use your money is directly linked to the bank account you should have.”
If you hardly use your account a ‘pay as you go’ account with low monthly fees but with charges for each transaction may be suitable. However, if you transact regularly, FNB offers the Unlimited Account where you do not pay per transaction but a monthly fee. This allows you to budget for your banking costs on a monthly basis.
Take a few moments to call your bank, look online or go into a branch to find out what you are paying for the account you use.
What does your bank account give you?
“Banking isn’t just all about bank fees, some banks will often reward or give value adds to customers to incentivise them to continue banking with them, and to bank in a cost effective way,” says Hlungwani.
An example of this is FNB rewards for its Smart customers, the bank has paid out R50 million over the course of the year just to these customers for making good banking choices such as depositing your salary into your bank account, buying airtime and electricity through its digital channels, buying groceries at Checkers and Shoprite as well as buying fuel using their debit cards.
“Make sure that the rewards system works for you,” suggests Hlungwani.
In the instance of the Smart customers FNB gives rewards in airtime, check what your bank is offering you in terms of rewards.
“Rewards can really work for you, if you understand the rewards program and if you use your bank account cleverly and efficiently you will be able to not just save money, but actually get some back,” says Hlungwani. “FNB pays its Smart customers about R20 a month in airtime, which is an average of 17% of the average Smart customer’s airtime bill. This is money for nothing by banking smartly.”
Use electronic and digital services
Check to see what electronic or digital services you bank account allows you to do. Most transactions are far cheaper when using Cellphone or Online Banking, or one of the other digital options such depositing money at an Automatic Deposit Teller (ADT) instead of inside the branch.
“Regular services such as making a payment to a person or accessing an account statement are very cheap if not free when using electronic or digital services,” says Hlungwani. “The reason it is so much cheaper is that everything in a banking branch from the building, the consultant and the computers cost money, therefore if you use Cellphone Banking, Online Banking or an ADT, you are saving the bank money and so the bank is able pass these savings onto you.”
Cash isn’t king
“While it might seem to make sense to withdraw cash from your account to make payments, it is not the best way to use your bank account,” says Hlungwani. “Not only is carrying around cash a problem from a safety point of view, you can also quickly rack up you bank fees if you are drawing cash frequently, and these fees are especially high if you withdraw from another bank’s ATM.”
Most stores now carry a Point-of-Sale machine which will allow you to swipe your card when you purchase stuff in the store instead of paying with cash. One can also draw cash at these Point-of-Sale machines in these stores.
“If you need to withdraw money, rather do it for small items only, such as taxi fares and street vendors. For everything else, swipe,” advises Hlungwani. You can even pay for fuel with your debit cards nowadays so there isn’t really a reason to withdraw money all the time.”
