Heritage Bank removes limits on fee-free transactions

Heritage Bank has announced it will cut fees on its some of its savings and transaction accounts from this Saturday.

In a statement today, the customer-owned bank said the removal of fees charged on transactions that exceeded a monthly fee-free limit would apply to most EFTPOS, counter cash withdrawals, BPAY, Heritage ATM withdrawals, transfers and balances and cheque deposits from 1 September 2018.

According to Heritage Bank, it will not charge transaction fees on any of the following accounts:

• Heritage Bank Target Bonus
• Heritage Bank Christmas Club
• Heritage Bank Online Saver
• Heritage Bank Community Saver
• Heritage Bank Body Corporate
• Heritage Bank Body Corporate Special
• Heritage Bank Club Cheque

Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock said the change would “massively simplify” its account structure and help consumers save money on fees.

“The complicated nature of the old fee structure made it fairly difficult to understand,” Mr Lock said.

“In fact, explaining the structure previously took nine pages in Heritage’s Fees and Limits Guide.”

Canstar’s Senior Research Analyst Josh Sale said with so many options for choice in the market, its important consumers consider banking institutions that have affordable fees and charges.

“Everyday banking, such as buying your morning coffee with your EFTPOS card or paying your weekly rent by internet transfer, represents the most common way that most consumers interact with their financial institution of choice,” Mr Sale said.

“The deposit space is ultra competitive, and institutions are keen to lock down their customers and make sure that they continue to keep their full suite of financial products with them.”

The bank said it would still charge some fees on accounts for infrequent transactions, such as a $2.50 non-Heritage Bank counter withdrawal, a $3.00 Bank@Post transaction fee and a $5.00 overseas ATM or counter withdrawal fee plus currency conversion fee.

The accounts that will still incur those infrequent transaction fees from 1 September are:

• Heritage Bank Simply Access
• Heritage Bank Cash Management
• Heritage Bank Loan Offset
• Heritage Bank Mortgage Crusher
• Heritage Bank Money Manager
• Heritage Bank Pension Plus
• Heritage Bank Business Cheque
• Heritage Bank Trust Account