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| Business |
| Banks extend business hours,Banks extend business hours |
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by
Aubrey Mchulu,Aubrey Mchulu, 20 January 2004
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15:44:31
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Two leading commercial banks in Malawi, Stanbic Bank and National Bank of Malawi (NBM) have announced the extension of opening hours effective February 2, 2004.
Both banks said the move has been necessitated by technological advances which gives them flexibility and allows longer business hours.
Stanbic Bank marketing manager Margaret Kubwalo said in an interview on Tuesday that her bank’s banking halls will now be open from 8 AM to 3:30 PM from Monday to Friday and from 8:30 AM to 12 noon on Saturdays.
On the other hand, NBM public relations officer Annie Magola said NBM will be opening from 8 AM to 3 PM Monday to Friday but will continue to be closed on weekends.
Currently, NBM and Stanbic open from 8 AM to 2 PM and do not open for business on weekends.
Kubwalo said the Bankmaster Version 7 Stanbic installed in its transition from Commercial Bank of Malawi to Stanbic enables more flexibility and the bank decided to pass the benefits of advanced technology to customers.
“Besides, as an international bank, we are embracing international banking standards because internationally most banks open on Saturdays and we expect this will be of great convenience to our customers,” she said.
Magola said NBM board last June asked management to consider extending opening hours but management decided to conduct a customer survey to see if there was demand for extended hours.
“Management found that there is demand for more hours and the vast technological improvements we have made in recent years allows us to open for more hours,” she said.
In an apparent reference to a recent move by its major competitor Stanbic Bank to introduce service charges, Magola said NBM will not introduce any service charges on deposit or withdrawals and Moneycard auto-teller machine transactions.
She said NBM will continue charging normal ledger fees to its customers and send them statements indicating charges incurred.
Stanbic introduced service charges on all transactions including cash withdrawals and deposits to all its customers effective January 1, 2004 in what Kubwalo said is a move to empower the clients know how to plan their finances under the retail banking concept.
“This is not a rip-off. We are just being transparent to our customers because we value them and we want them to use services they can afford,” she said in an earlier interview, comparing retail banking to a supermarket where every product has a price tag and one buys what they can afford.
Under the new arrangement, Stanbic account holders will be charged K20 for every withdrawal made in the banking hall and K10 for every transaction made through its Autobank brand of auto-teller machines.
,
Two leading commercial banks in Malawi, Stanbic Bank and National Bank of Malawi (NBM) have announced the extension of opening hours effective February 2, 2004.
Both banks said the move has been necessitated by technological advances which gives them flexibility and allows longer business hours.
Stanbic Bank marketing manager Margaret Kubwalo said in an interview on Tuesday that her bank’s banking halls will now be open from 8 AM to 3:30 PM from Monday to Friday and from 8:30 AM to 12 noon on Saturdays.
On the other hand, NBM public relations officer Annie Magola said NBM will be opening from 8 AM to 3 PM Monday to Friday but will continue to be closed on weekends.
Currently, NBM and Stanbic open from 8 AM to 2 PM and do not open for business on weekends.
Kubwalo said the Bankmaster Version 7 Stanbic installed in its transition from Commercial Bank of Malawi to Stanbic enables more flexibility and the bank decided to pass the benefits of advanced technology to customers.
“Besides, as an international bank, we are embracing international banking standards because internationally most banks open on Saturdays and we expect this will be of great convenience to our customers,” she said.
Magola said NBM board last June asked management to consider extending opening hours but management decided to conduct a customer survey to see if there was demand for extended hours.
“Management found that there is demand for more hours and the vast technological improvements we have made in recent years allows us to open for more hours,” she said.
In an apparent reference to a recent move by its major competitor Stanbic Bank to introduce service charges, Magola said NBM will not introduce any service charges on deposit or withdrawals and Moneycard auto-teller machine transactions.
She said NBM will continue charging normal ledger fees to its customers and send them statements indicating charges incurred.
Stanbic introduced service charges on all transactions including cash withdrawals and deposits to all its customers effective January 1, 2004 in what Kubwalo said is a move to empower the clients know how to plan their finances under the retail banking concept.
“This is not a rip-off. We are just being transparent to our customers because we value them and we want them to use services they can afford,” she said in an earlier interview, comparing retail banking to a supermarket where every product has a price tag and one buys what they can afford.
Under the new arrangement, Stanbic account holders will be charged K20 for every withdrawal made in the banking hall and K10 for every transaction made through its Autobank brand of auto-teller machines.
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