Natwest and RBS to charge for branch withdrawals

wizk1

It seems like every bank is ditching Maestro. First Direct recently did the same. This is probably a bad thing, considering Visa would dominate the market, and once Maestro is out of the picture, the commission Visa demands would increase. Just a thought.

Biggles

opinions4u wrote: »

The headline implies they will charge RBS customers for withdrawing in an RBS branch and the same for Nat West.

That was certainly how I read it.

Charges for withdrawing from a bank you don't have an account with are hardly newsworthy, in fact I assumed they all did it already.

wizk1

opinions4u wrote: »

The headline implies they will charge RBS customers for withdrawing in an RBS branch and the same for Nat West.

The detail says otherwise.

Fair point.

co123456

I can't remember the last time I tried to withdraw cash over the counter from my bank. I've no problem with the banks charging for this service.
I find the term 'stealth fees' a little harsh considering that the bank is being up front and publishing this information.

Also 'These charges are another smack in the face for customers, from big banks trying to claw in as much cash as possible.' seems harsh.

Consider how many people... how many transactions.... are affected by this. If this was a large scale problem that affected many many people, perhaps I would think differently.

Every time a bank introduces a charge, will it be slated?

It's obvious that cash handling costs money. It's obvious that if you try to withdraw money from a competitor bank, you are costing the bank(s) money. If you must use this service, isn't it fair that you help towards the cost?

Extant

wizk1 wrote: »

It seems like every bank is ditching Maestro. First Direct recently did the same. This is probably a bad thing, considering Visa would dominate the market, and once Maestro is out of the picture, the commission Visa demands would increase. Just a thought.

Doing so would force Visa's direct customers (i.e. the issuing banks) to consider alternatives, such as Mastercard Debit.

There's nothing to suggest Visa will hike fees at all, and if it did, you'd barely know - excluding Visa interchange rates, the entire cost of issuing the card is born by your bank.

mcdaly

I worked as a bank cashier for 5 years and I didn't even know that this service was offered! No one ever asked for it anyway so this is just silly and I think banks have every right to charge their customers for this as it is a "non-typical transaction"

natweststaffmember

Can I ask whether you can still cash a cheque with a cheque guarantee card at either counters? As I am no longer on the inside I can't look at the finer points.

I will explain, can you still write an RBS Cheque and cash it at NatWest with your cheque guarantee card without a fee being made?

stclair

How many people would actually withdraw money over the counter at another bank?

This is just a general question I may add..

chr1sbean

stclair wrote: »

Natwest and RBS will not be issuing maestro cards over the next few months as there being ditched.

Hmmm, RBS have just issued me with a maestro card, does that mean I shall have to upgrade to visa, or will that only apply once my card comes to expire?

In fact it is probably not going to be a problem, I moved to Cornwall 2 years ago and I think they only have something like 2 branches in the whole of Cornwall, so I shall probably have to change banks anyway!

willo65

chr1sbean wrote: »

Hmmm, RBS have just issued me with a maestro card, does that mean I shall have to upgrade to visa, or will that only apply once my card comes to expire?

In fact it is probably not going to be a problem, I moved to Cornwall 2 years ago and I think they only have something like 2 branches in the whole of Cornwall, so I shall probably have to change banks anyway!

Have a look and see if the mobile banking van covers your area.