A new survey from the Central Bank of The Bahamas, released this week, sheds light on how Bahamians bank – revealing that many are unhappy with current banking fees and charges.

While 60 per cent of those surveyed said they were “largely satisfied” with their experiences at their primary bank, most expressed unease about the level of fees associated with common services such as ATM use, check cashing and deposits.

The majority are paying between $5 and $19 per month in charges, and consider these costs too high.

There’s also some confusion about the basis for these fees as many customers cannot distinguish between direct government taxes and a financial institution’s own charges.

The Commercial Banks’ Customer Satisfaction Survey, which was carried out in January and involved more than 1,000 respondents, offers financial institutions a way to track customer satisfaction and strategise for better customer engagement and education in the future.

Over 90 per cent of the Bahamian population has access to banking services, and most access their funds online.

The Central Bank recently launched its payments system modernisation initiative which aims to eradicate financial exclusion and ease the access and cost of banking in The Bahamas.

Read/download the full text of Central Bank’s Bank Fees Analysis

•  HIGHLIGHTS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS’ CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY