Central Bank ‘looking into’ inter-bank fee

The Central Bank of Barbados, which regulates the nation’s commercial banks, is investigating a plan by the Bank of Nova Scotia to make it more costly for residents to do business with it through inter-bank transfers, governor Dr Kevin Greenidge has confirmed.   

But bank account holders have been told to brace for the Scotiabank decision to spread to other banks, which would be in keeping with a frequently observed pattern.                                                      

Scotiabank announced on Tuesday that effective February 1, it will be introducing a fee of $1.25 on the transactions of customers who use its online banking service and banking app to transfer funds from Scotia accounts to other local banks or credit unions, using real-time payments (RTP) and automated clearing house (ACH) transfers. The bank also informed customers that the fee would apply to in-branch transactions.

“We are looking into the matter,” was all Dr Greenidge was prepared to say at this stage when contacted by Barbados TODAY on Tuesday.

The president of the Barbados Bankers Association Anthony Clerk said he could not speak specifically for the banks on a matter of fees, but sought to explain why he believed the Canadian-owned bank would want to impose the levy.

“There is a cost at the back end of the ACH so that fee is more like a recovery cost for the bank,” Clerk told Barbados TODAY.

Based on that, the banking community spokesman anticipated that other banks would follow suit.

In an email to customers, Scotiabank said: “We remain committed to investing in the development of our digital banking platforms to ensure that they are safe and user friendly…. Effective February 1st, 2024, a fee of $1.25 will apply when you visit the Branch or use Scotia OnLine Banking and the Scotia Caribbean App to transfer funds from your Scotiabank account to other local banks or credit unions.”

It added that transfers between Scotiabank accounts remain free of charge.

One of Canada’s big five banks, the Bank of Nova Scotia has been operating in Barbados since 1956.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb