Our newspaper's hotline for solving "bank account" troubles has been open for two days. After statistics compiled by the reporter, it was found that more than half of the hotline inquiries were regarding issues with small account management fees. One account, due to a monthly 20 yuan small account management fee charged by the bank, not only had its 500 yuan balance depleted, but also ended up owing money to the bank. Meanwhile, the vast majority of depositors expressed that they were completely unaware of this fee.
Depositor Shocked:
The 500 yuan deposited is gone and now owes money.
"I find it incredible that saving money could result in me owing the bank money, especially since I didn't even know about this fee," Mr. Zhang told reporters. In October 1997, he opened an account at a certain state-owned commercial bank branch in Shifang and deposited 500 yuan all at once. After moving back to Chengdu, he never used this account again. Recently, when he visited the bank in Shifang, he discovered that although his account still existed, the balance was zero. The 500 yuan had been entirely deducted under the name of "small account and long-term inactive account management fee." Calculating further, he realized he actually owed the bank several hundred yuan.
Upon interviewing the Sichuan Branch of the bank, the response received was that Mr. Zhang's account fell under the category of a public small account. The bank had previously issued a "Notice on Charging Management Fees for Public Small Accounts and Long-Term Inactive Accounts," which stated that starting from 2007, fees would be charged for RMB unit bank settlement accounts with an average daily balance below 1000 yuan. The charge standard was 20 yuan per month per account. Since over three years have passed, this led to the account being in arrears.
Card Cancellation Encounter:
Cancelling card costs money, better to let the bank cancel it passively.
Additionally, Ms. Wang, who lives near Shuinanhe, recently discovered a few long-unused cards and passbooks at home, each containing residual funds ranging from a few yuan to several dozen yuan. She planned to visit the bank to close her accounts and withdraw the remaining funds. After checking around at the bank, she learned that one card had a quarterly 3 yuan small account management fee and an annual 10 yuan fee, depleting the balance long ago. Moreover, this card now owed the bank over 40 yuan. If she wanted to cancel the card, she would first need to repay the outstanding amount. Therefore, she thought it better to wait for the bank to passively cancel her card rather than lose money by actively closing it herself.
○ Journalist Investigation
Small Account Management Fee: Some banks charge it, some do not.
The reporter learned that different banks have varying policies regarding small account management fees.
Construction Bank: For Dragon Cards with zero balances that are inactive for a long time, the system automatically cancels the card, waiving any previously owed annual fees or account management fees.
Agricultural Bank: Accounts unused for one and a half years will be converted into "dormant accounts" but will not be cancelled. Dormant accounts can be reactivated for normal use.
Bank of China: When the average daily balance in a personal client's card falls below 500 yuan, a 3 yuan small account management fee is deducted quarterly. Additionally, there is an annual 10 yuan account management fee. If the client's account becomes a "double-zero account" (i.e., the balance is zero and there are no operations), after three years, the bank automatically closes the account.
Minsheng Bank and Everbright Bank: Currently, these banks do not charge small account management fees to clients.
At the same time, relevant banks all have regulations stating that if a client goes to the counter to close an account, they must settle any outstanding annual fees or small account management fees.
Banks: Dormant accounts require maintenance costs.
According to the banks, some accounts have become long-term dormant accounts that inevitably incur certain maintenance costs for the bank to manage. By charging such fees, banks aim to encourage people to review how many accounts they have at the bank.
Reminder: Dormant accounts should be handled promptly.
Bank professionals remind that aside from commonly used accounts, other accounts should be closed if possible or consolidated if feasible. This not only improves the efficiency of fund usage but also saves unnecessary expenses.
Depositors: Typical "favoring the rich and despising the poor."
Regarding the small account management fee, various opinions exist. Most depositors believe this is a typical example of "favoring the rich and despising the poor." Using the current central bank's announced annual interest rate of 0.36% for demand deposits as a reference, if the specified average daily deposit balance is not reached, then the annual expense of 10 yuan and the annual account management fee of 12 yuan will far exceed the demand deposit interest rate, resulting in small accounts facing a fate of becoming smaller with continued savings.
People's Bank Clarification:
Overdue debit card fees do not affect personal credit.
Some citizens worry that forgetting to close an account while the bank continues to charge annual fees and small account management fees might lead to a situation where the depositor owes the bank money, potentially affecting their personal credit. According to the Credit Management Department of the Chengdu Branch of the People's Bank, currently, personal credit reports record overdue payments on credit cards. Overdue payments on debit cards have not yet entered personal credit reports, so they will not affect personal credit records.
○ Term Definition
Small Account Management Fee:
This is a fee charged monthly by banks on accounts with an average daily balance below a certain amount. The so-called average daily deposit balance refers to the average of the daily deposit balances, calculated by summing up the daily deposit balances during the statistical period and dividing by the number of days in the statistical period, resulting in the average daily deposit balance.
Reporter: Liu Chang