The Central Bank is clamping down on attempts by commercial banks to charge customers for online transactions from their accounts to other financial institutions.
The Central Bank has issued a directive warning the commercial banks that they are not to charge for what are called automated clearing house or ACH Transactions.
The directive from the Central Bank comes after one of the banks, Scotia, sent out emails to their clients and posted a notice on their website stating that effective February 1st this year retail banking customers will be charged a transaction fee of one dollar and twenty-five cents when they visit a branch or use online banking or their banking app to transfer money from their account to other local banks or credit unions.
In a statement issued today, the Central Bank of Barbados confirms that it has directed commercial banks not to impose fees on electronic transactions made through the automated clearing house, including the real-time payments system.
The news release states that yesterday, January 2nd, the Central Bank issued a circular to commercial banks advising them that fees are not to be charged on these transactions and that any fees that are currently being charged should be discontinued immediately.
The Bank notes that under the National Payments System Act it has responsibility for the oversight of the national payments systems and is issuing this directive based on this authority.
