The average cost of transactions
02 Aug 2016
For business owners, transactions are their lifeblood – but when it comes to transaction accounts there is a wide variation of potential transaction fees.
Particularly in a low cash rate environment, transaction fees on bank accounts can really pack a punch. So across the products surveyed for the 2016 business deposit account star ratings, Canstar has calculated the minimum, maximum and average monthly transaction fees that business owners could be paying, depending on their choice of account and transaction habits.
When it comes to business accounts, Canstar assesses them across three profiles. Please note the information in all tables below is sourced from the Canstar 2016 business deposit account star ratings, assessing 83 business deposit products from 38 providers.
Business Accounts: Transactors
This profile relates to business customers looking for a transaction account. Access to branch, ATM, Cheque, EFTPOS, Internet, Direct Credit and Direct Debit facilities must be available for an account to be considered for this profile.
So what fees should Transactors expect? Here’s a rundown:
| Account keeping fee | Direct Debit | Direct Credit | ATM withdrawal own network | Branch withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transactor | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 32.00 | 1.50 | 0.20 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| AVERAGE | 9.48 | 0.14 | 0.02 | 0.50 | 0.94 |
| Branch Deposit | Cheque Withdrawal | Cheque Deposit | Internet transfer | EFTPOS Transactions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transactor | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 5.00 | 7.50 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| AVG | 0.64 | 0.83 | 0.55 | 0.16 | 0.41 |
Business Accounts: Business Savers
This profile relates to business customers looking for a high interest savings account. To be eligible, the account must offer an interest rate of 1% or higher on a balance of $50,000.
So what fees should Business Savers expect? Here’s a rundown:
| Account keeping fee | Direct Debit | Direct Credit | ATM withdrawal own network | Branch withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Saver | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 5.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
| AVG | 0.21 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.41 |
| Branch Deposit | Cheque Withdrawal | Cheque Deposit | Internet transfer | EFTPOS Transactions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Saver | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 3.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 | 0.25 | 1.00 |
| AVG | 0.58 | 0.00 | 0.26 | 0.01 | 0.04 |
Business Accounts: Cash Managers
This profile relates to business investors looking to earn interest on their money while retaining full account access. To be eligible, the account must offer an interest rate of 0.10% or higher on a balance of $50,000
What fees should Cash Managers expect? Here’s a rundown:
| Account keeping fee | Direct Debit | Direct Credit | ATM withdrawal own network | Branch withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Manager | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 10.00 | 1.00 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 2.50 |
| AVG | 2.58 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.47 | 1.01 |
| Branch Deposit | Cheque Withdrawal | Cheque Deposit | Internet transfer | EFTPOS Transactions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Manager | |||||
| MIN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| MAX | 2.50 | 2.50 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.60 |
| AVG | 0.38 | 0.68 | 0.43 | 0.18 | 0.45 |
As can be seen above, in every customer profile there is a reasonably wide variation in the potential fees, which can add up to a significant amount of money over the course of a trading year.
Of course there is more to a business account than just the fees: you should also take into consideration the accessibility, any free transactions or rebates and any other features that are important to you. Don’t be scared to switch though – there are many competitive transaction account options on the market for savvy business owners.
Canstar has researched and rated 83 business deposit products from 38 providers to determine which accounts offer outstanding value for businesses. You can compare business savings accounts here and compare business transaction accounts here.
