Dear Editor,
About two weeks ago I visited a certain branch of Scotiabank to change a cheque issued to me by my employer who has an account with said bank. The clerk undertaking the transaction queried as to whether I had an account with the bank and in the absence of me not having one I was required to pay a charge of $500. Of course, this was very upsetting and seemed unfair, so I asked the clerk the basis for the charge, but she was unable to provide any basis. She was able to advise however that the charge was effective about two weeks before my visit and that there was a notice on the wall about the new charge.
I have a number of queries with respect to the reasoning behind the imposition of this charge, the most important being whether it is consistent with the banking and financial laws. While I am no such expert, I find that the charge seems not only arbitrary and a penalty, but it appears unreasonable. It seems unreasonable for a number of reasons. It is basically forcing Guyanese to join that bank in order to avoid paying the charge, otherwise we face a penalty which is this charge. It is forcing employers and entrepreneurs to have an account at each bank or some other bank in Guyana so as to avoid employees or business partners having to pay the charge when personal cheques are issued to them; this cannot be good for small businesses. The very nature of the charge seems to be a money-making mechanism and not genuinely rooted in the provision of service.
I also envisage a number of spin-off effects, one such being the negative impact on business transactions, as the issuer of the cheque may be tasked with including this charge in the value of the cheque, as it seems unfair to have a business partner or employee pay a penalty because that person does not have an account at Scotia Bank. It may also cause persons to move their accounts to other banks which do not apply such a charge, as in effect the charge will be transferred to the Scotiabank account holder. I am thinking that the latter should have been a priority consideration of the bank while considering the imposition of this charge.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
