Banks Are Indispensable, But Beware The Charges

Widely seen as a grudge purchase, it is nearly impossible to imagine a world without the convenience and security offered by modern-day banks.

- Shivesh Maharaj

As a young boy living in Durban, I vividly remember my Mom and I waking up extra early on a special Saturday morning, catching the inner-circle bus, dressed in our best, to visit a local bank branch, the closest of which was about 15km from home. I also recall watching her use an ATM for the first time – I was amazed at how far technology had progressed, and wondered: “What next?”

Those feelings that banking created in me stand in stark contrast to the thoughts that we as consumers have when we think banking today. Being close to the transactional finance world, this discrepancy has always amazed me.

I recently saw a reflection of my young self and the sense of awe I held in my young son, who for the first time used a point of sales (POS) terminal to pay for a video game he had saved up for, and the answer to this discrepancy seemed so obvious… the feelings that money gives us as kids are driven by the potential value created in our lives with the “stuff” money can buy, but as adults these feelings are overcome by the perceived rigmarole, effort and cost that managing one’s money brings, and most of these feeling are attached to banks as the  middle man between us and our money.

When you explore these negative connotations and their origins, almost always the first answer you get is: “I pay too much.” The idea of paying someone to manage your money almost seems absurd when you realise that you almost never get to enjoy your full take-home salary due to bank charges and fees.

Grudge purchase