Proverbs 8:15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.
Customers have never had more choices than they do now, when it comes to the matter of selecting the providers, brands and services to help them manage their lives,. This can never be much truer in relation to the banking industry. Over the years in Jamaica, we would have seen the introduction of new banks or other financial institutions being given commercial license to provide banking service.
In recent years we noted from media reports and our own interactions; financial institutions increasing their banking fees due to increase operation cost as they posit. This has again sparked a major debate in the public arena about the timeliness of this, considering the other exigencies facing our people.
Be reminded that as consumers, you do have the ultimate power in selecting or making changes to your financial service provider. I am acutely aware that the switching behavior within the banking sector is largely determined by one’s cultural background. While individualistic consumers are more prone to switch banks, collectivist consumers are highly risk averse and are unwilling to lose the established relations with a bank’s personnel. These characteristics make them unlikely to switch banks irrespective of banking decisions. It is therefore important in all this noise that we consider seriously how paying for example ABM withdrawal/deposit fees, point of sale or loan transactions fees will affect our personal financial statement.
There are a few institutions that have minimal or no fees in relation to banking transactions in Jamaica. If we carefully do our research and comparisons it will be revealed. You can check the Bank of Jamaica’s website for the fees.
In the meantime, let’s pray that a Kingdom bank will be realized in this season that will not only be profit motivated but has a genuine care for the nation’s most important asset which is its people.
