We are redefining how you pay your bank charges

Our goal at The Alternative bank is to make lives better by providing you, our partner, with everything you need for a healthy financial life.

We take your feedback seriously and are always looking for ways to improve your experience with us (our feedback form is always open here). We have heard your request to know what you are charged for and when you are charged for it.

That’s why we are changing how we do things at The Alternative Bank; giving you full transparency on what services we charge you for and full control over your account.

WHAT ARE BANK CHARGES FOR?

Bank Charges are fees for services we render to you for managing your account and safeguarding your funds. These charges often cut across, account maintenance fees, transaction fees, fees for products, etc.

Let’s break down what they really are.

Bank charges are regulatory which means our boss – Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stipulated them as compulsory. The amount we charge is usually set by them.

There are some charges that you incur on a day-to-day basis, and some are one-off fees. Please see some of the current bank charges in Nigeria (CBN, 2019).

• ATM Withdrawal Fees: A charge of N35 on your account for withdrawals from a different bank’s ATM more than 3 times within the same month. This charge is dependent on the bank’s ATM where this transaction is carried out. Kindly note that we do not charge you ATM withdrawal fees when you withdraw at a sterling bank ATM.

• Card Maintenance Fees: A N50 (usually) quarterly maintenance fee for Naira debit or credit cards linked to your savings accounts. There is no charge for maintenance fees on cards linked to your current account. Foreign currency-denominated debit/credit cards attract $10 (or its equivalent).

• TOKEN: There is a maximum charge of N2,500 on hardware tokens but software tokens do not attract any charge. We currently use a software token – MToken for your transactions.  

• Transfer Fees: Sending funds domestically to other banks often incurs fees. There are no charges on transfer to the same bank or intrabank (e.g. Alternative Bank to Alternative Bank). For inter-bank transfers or to other banks, transactions below N5000 cost N10 plus VAT; N5,001 to N50,000 cost N25 plus VAT; transactions above N50,000 cost N50 plus VAT.

• Bill payment: These are charges you incur whilst paying bills. Bill payments cover payment for utilities, cable TV, airline, etc.

• Foreign Transaction Fees: When you make purchases or withdraw cash in a foreign currency or use your card abroad, the bank charges foreign transaction fees. These charges are typically a percentage of the transaction amount and are in addition to the currency exchange rate.

• Cashlite individual charge: This is CBN’s charge for cash withdrawals above the allowed limit. This policy was developed to encourage the use of e-channels and cheques for financial transactions.

• Purchase of Form A: Form A allows you to purchase funds at the CBN or interbank rate to make payments for eligible services as predetermined by the foreign exchange manual.

• Status Enquiry at the Request of Customer/ Bank Letter: A status enquiry charge (also known as a banker’s reference) gives third parties an indication of your personal or business finances. This covers charges you will incur when you request a status enquiry from us.

• RTGS Charge: RTGS is a payment system that enables instantaneous and secure fund transfers between your bank account to a beneficiary account. RTGS charge covers transfer fees for this mode of transfer.

• Stamp Duty: Stamp duty is a N50 naira charge on transactions or cash deposits above 10,000 naira or more by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

• Cheque charges: These are charges that you will incur when you own a cheque book.

• Facility charges: These are charges you incur when you use any of our facilities. e.g., altmall, altbiz, altdrive etc.

Too tired to read? Plug in and listen

WHAT IS CHANGING? –  INTRODUCING THE BILLING SYSTEM

Traditionally, bank charges are applied to each transaction immediately after the service is rendered, resulting in a fragmented and sometimes confusing, payment process. Each transaction, bank transfer etc., is closely followed by its own processing fee. 

Goodbye to that!

Welcome the new billing system.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

With a new billing account solely created for all your bank charges, you can pay your bank fees by making a transfer to your billing account anytime or decide to be automatically debited on the 5th of the new month. You are no longer caught off guard!

Your billing account will collate all your fees for the month, showing you the total amount of charges, you have incurred, giving you the option to settle your bank fees anytime during the month. Your billing account can be accessed on the altbank app any day and anytime or by requesting a statement from any of our outlets, email or social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedln)

Like everyone else, we will send you our bill and wait to be paid. Just because we can, does not mean we should pay ourselves anytime we wish.

We understand that this change may be a little confusing to understand at once.

PLEASE NOTE: To make the change process easier, the change effective October 01, 2023, will affect only the charges listed below.

We want you to have a clear understanding of your financial activities and that’s why we are doing things differently – no surprises, full transparency! That’s a real partnership at The Alternative Bank.

With your billing account in your email, you can see your bank charges for your transactions and opt to pay them off to the designated account or wait until you’re automatically debited on the 5th of the next month.

As your trusted financial partner, we are committed to maintaining the gold standard.