The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN businesses yesterday challenged the up to 20 percent increase in commercial banking fees by arguing they are paying more for reduced services.

Daphne DeGregory-Miaoulis, proprietor of Abaco Neem, told Tribune Business that higher banking fees have made it more difficult for her business to operate.

“All I know is, yes, I’m paying higher banking fees, and like every other business in the country, every other individual, the more that these fees are increased, banking, business, government, it’s just becoming more and more challenging to stay in business,” she said.

“And businesses that have been struggling, and that are teetering on a tight rope to remain profitable, cannot really absorb additional fees from anywhere.”

Her comments come after commercial banks defended higher charges by pointing to rising operating expenses, including employee salaries, electricity and information technology costs, following the Central Bank’s latest survey showing fee increases across several customer categories. Fees are also lower for customers who use digital and online banking as opposed to manual processes. The Central Bank, in its survey report for the half-year to December 2025, asserted: “On a case-by-case basis, average charges on constructed customer profiles have firmed since both the June 2025 and December 2024 survey….

“Compared with both June 2025 and the December 2024 periods, domestic banks’ average total monthly surcharges for digital services have increased, with three of the four scenario estimates across commercial banks indicating higher average fee totals. An increase in cost was observed within the student, adult chequing and adult savings scenarios.”

Turning to manual or in-branch, physical banking, the Central Bank said: “Customers who rely heavily on physical banking service channels persistently incur higher monthly costs across the four scenarios, also registering firming on average since the second half of 2024.”

Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis yesterday said businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to take on higher charges with what she believes is a declining level of customer service by commercial banks.

“As far as I see, banking services have decreased, and even their labour forces seem to have decreased. We don’t have personal banking service any more, because everything’s automated,” she said.

“In the past, when we used to go into the bank to do a wire transfer and have personal one-on-one interaction with an employee, that doesn’t exist any more.” Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis argued that while physical branches remain open in Abaco, many traditional banking functions have shifted to digital platforms or overseas call centres.

“We have physical banks, but all they do is take deposits and distribute cash,” she said. “They don’t provide services. If you have an issue with the credit card, you have to go to a phone line and call a foreigner in another country in many cases.”

Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis said businesses are increasingly performing work that banks and government agencies once handled themselves. “Basically a business person is working for the bank, doing all the transactions online,. We’re working for the government, filing all of our taxes online,” she said.

“So basically we’ve taken over the services of the various agencies and are having to do them ourselves. We’re taking on the burden and paying for a service that very often isn’t being provided.”

Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis also disclosed that she is preparing to question her bank over new charges that appeared on a recent wire transfer. “I’m going into the bank this morning to query some additional fees on a wire transfer that has never been charged in the past, and they just have started charging without any explanation,” she said.

While acknowledging there are “two sides to every coin”, Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis maintained that businesses are paying more without seeing equal value. “I don’t see where the banks are providing the same level of service as they did in the past, but they’re charging more for what they are actually doing,” she said.

Responding to the banking industry’s argument that higher operating costs justify increased fees, she said businesses themselves are often unable to pass on rising expenses.

“Rising costs isn’t something that has to be shared,” she said. “Even with businesses. I can’t always increase my retail price to what it should be because the consumer can’t always afford that increase.”

Mrs DeGregory-Miaoulis questioned the long-term impact on the Bahamian economy. “When you add the rising cost of banking, the rising cost of insurance, the rising cost of government fees.. when you add all these things up, are we going to be able to stay in business, or are we going to see more businesses shutting down? What in the long run best serves the growth and development of our country, and the entrepreneurs that feed the country?”

Patricia Cleare, operator of Screws and Fasteners World, said many business owners feel they have little choice but to absorb increasing banking costs. “I haven’t really paid too much attention because we really can’t do nothing about it, because you’re relying on the banks, and they do charge a lot,” she said. “I must say, it’s very expensive.

“But it is nothing we can do. We just got to suck it up, unless the Government finds another way to actually ease the situation. But even if the Government gives them breaks, they seem to find other ways to be able to add extra charges.”

Ms Cleare said wire transfer costs have become a routine but unavoidable expense. “I do a lot of wire transfers and I just pay it because you have no other choice,” she said. She rejected suggestions that banks’ higher operating costs justify the increases.

“I don’t think it’s justified because they have your money,” Ms Cleare said. “The bank saves their money, and they use your money to make money. And there’s no breaks with you. They still charge you an arm and a leg.

“They might have some expenses, yes. We all do have expenses, but I think some of the stuff they charge for, like how much they charge to do wire transfers, how much they’re hitting you with and forcing you to rent their credit card machines. They’re looking at every little loophole to hit you with charges.”

Ms Cleare also highlighted the burden merchant processing fees place on retailers, particularly because businesses are generally prohibited from imposing credit card surcharges on customers. “They told us a long time ago,” she said. “It’s illegal to do so.

“But they told us: put up the price. You have somebody who comes and pays for something like 68 cents. That even isn’t worth the paper to print on. So what some businesses do is tell you, ‘Listen, we don’t want you to use the card if the purchase is $10 or less.’ It’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. And you still get hit from the banks about 4 percent, 3 percent, depending on where your level is with the bank.

“So that’s why some merchants go ahead and charge extra to discourage people from using a credit card for little purchases.”

Their concerns follow comments from Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, Gowon Bowe, who argued that the Central Bank’s latest banking fee survey presents only part of the picture by highlighting fee increases without examining the escalating costs banks themselves face.

Mr Bowe said commercial banks are grappling with higher expenses, including staff salaries, electricity and cybersecurity investments, arguing that these pressures inevitably affect pricing and warning that focusing solely on fee increases risks unfairly portraying banks while creating unnecessary tension with customers.

The Central Bank’s latest survey found that average monthly fees increased across several banking profiles during the second half of 2025, with those for digitally-managed student savings accounts rising by up to 22.4 percent and manually-operated adult chequing accounts increasing by up to 21.3 percent.