Monthly savings account fees vary by bank

TANZANIA: BANK of Tanzania (BoT) data shows that monthly savings account maintenance fees differ sharply across the country’s banks, with top-tier institutions keeping charges moderate while some smaller and midsized banks impose substantially higher costs.

Out of 42 banks surveyed, only ten do not charge any monthly maintenance fee, namely NMB Bank, Bank of India, Diamond Trust Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Habib Africa Bank, I&M Bank, NCBA Tanzania, Selcom Microfinance and United Bank of Africa.

For another five banks—Citibank, Equity Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank and TIB Development Bank— fees are not applicable to savings accounts.

Among banks that charge monthly fees, CRDB Bank’s maximum fee of 1,770/- is among the lowest. Other banks with relatively low fees include Mwalimu Commercial Bank (1,500/-), MUCOBA and Stanbic Bank (2,000/- each) and Bank of Africa (2,300/-).

Some institutions, however, impose significantly higher charges. Azania Bank tops the list with a maximum monthly fee of 25,000/-, followed by International Commercial Bank at 20,000/-, while Absa and Ecobank charge 15,000/- each.

Mkombozi Bank and Access Bank have maximum fees of 10,000/- each and the remaining banks typically charge 6,000/- or less. On the lower end, Letshego Faidika Bank leads with a minimum fee of 1,000/-, while other banks’ minimum fees range between 1,500/- and 2,500/-.

Economists said the wide variation in fees largely reflects the scale of a bank’s operations.

Dr Hildebrand Shayo, an economist-cum-investment banker, said that larger banks, including CRDB, NMB and NBC, can spread fixed costs— such as technology investments, regulatory compliance and ATM maintenance— across a larger number of transactions, reducing the cost per client and allowing them to charge lower fees while remaining profitable.

“Customer retention and market competition also influence fees,” Dr Shayo said. “Larger banks face more pressure to offer cost-effective services to retain clients.”

International banks, he added, often target high-networth individuals, corporate clients and premium retail customers, which explains why their fees can be higher.

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Leonard Joseph, a Dar es Salaam-based economist, pointed out the implications for financial inclusion.

“For low-income earners and rural customers, high maintenance fees can be a barrier to maintaining formal bank accounts, potentially undermining efforts to expand access to financial services,” he said.

Monthly savings account maintenance fees” are charges that a bank deducts from your savings account every month to cover the cost of maintaining and servicing the account.