You know it’s time to change your bank when you have to line up before the bank doors open and are stuck in a barely moving line for the next 30 minutes after it opens – as the tellers are too few and the processing system is slow.
But that’s what you get for cheap banking especially with their foreign exchange dealing and processing charges so low & attractive.
Thanks, a very Good post. Although you can use a foreign exchange company who always give better currency rates than the banks. You can sign up on their site for free and receive daily currency reports. They also have news and live currency converters.
Sometimes the convenience of fast, convenient banking beats trying to avoid bank charges.
I feel depressed every time I see long queues outside Equity and Co-Op bank (The teachers bank). The customer service at Equity reminds me of my one encounter with Post Bank where I was being treated like a suspected thief instead of a customer!! I swear I was harrassed by the askari I never went back.
I hazard a guess that the bank in question is Co-Operative Bank
Barclay’s is also notorious for the long queues unless ofcourse you are banking prestige. Bankelele whats the deal with Kengen’s second IPO. Prices were looking up only for supply to outstrip demand. Would you know how much the new set of shares would trade for?
Nick: Besides the forex rates, you also want a bank that charges a reasonable figure to process imcoming foreign cheques or transfers.
pesa tu: we are you
James: I wouldn’t mind at end month, but not everday & all day.
No idea what the Kengen price would have been. Everyone seems to think it would have been a discount of the market price but that kept dipping every month
Sema Banks
It’s not just the queues … I think it’s also the fact that most of these banks don’t appreciate their customers enough not to waste their time!!!
Anyone with enough cash to open one and employ enough tellers??
You are definitely talking about ‘we are you’.
I think the only long term solution is technology. The bank has introduced m banking where customers can transact via their mobile phones without necessrily having to go to the baking hall. I visited a client in Mbita (Lake Victoria Resort Hotel) who disclosed that he receives updates of deposits in his account from tourists placing bookings via his mobile phone. In addition he can inquire his account balance and make utility payments (e.g. electricity payments)via the same.Further, he is able to top up his airtime remotely.
The bank is soon introducing internet banking. Hopefully if Kenyans are willing to embrace technology fully, the long queues in the banking hall will be reduced substantially.