Personal Finance: Save time, avoid queuing up at banks

Let me not call it African culture, because as Africans, we are infamous for not being time conscious. In this case, we should save time, banks have tried to introduce every method possible to decongest bank halls by introducing Automated Teller Machines (ATMS), Internet Banking, SMS banking to mention but a few. But irritates to find banks filled up with people on a daily basis some of whom are queuing up for an hour in a small banking hall waiting to check whether they have money on their accounts. For you information, these services are free and it’s just a matter of filling-up a form at any branch and you will be getting SMS alerts whenever you account is credited, debited, check you balance; actually more applications have been added onto the service like buying cash power and many more. In the ATM case, however, there has recently been a system breakdown, but people should learn that by using these machines, they save time. Way-Forward Clients should only withdraw cash that is more than the maximum amount allowable at the ATM and depositing cash since this is yet to be introduced in the ATM system in Rwandan banks. But for those withdrawing small amounts or checking your balance, asking for bank statements, we should avoid visiting banks regularly for these services. Visit the nearest branch of the bank of your choice to register for these services, which are available at no cost. That way, you would be saving precious time. dougie85@gmail.com