Frequently Asked Questions – Transaction Fee Changes

1. What are the changes to NECU’s transaction fees?

Revised NECU transaction fee structure
Members may conduct any combination of Rediteller, EFTPOS and over the counter withdrawals each month, with the number of free transactions depending on the member’s combined Monthly Membership Balance*. The combined number of free Rediteller, EFTPOS and over the counter transactions that applies to each balance range is shown below:

Monthly Membership Balance

Combined number of free Rediteller, EFTPOS and over the counter withdrawals

$0 to $2,000

6

$2,000 to $5,000

12

$5,000 and over

Unlimited

Once the combined number of Rediteller, EFTPOS and over the counter withdrawals has been reached during any given month, all excess transactions are charged at $1.00 per transaction. Transaction fees are charged monthly.

In addition to the above, each member will also receive the following each month:

  1. 2 free balance enquiries and declined transactions at Reditellers, ATMs and point of sale (EFTPOS), following that a fee of $0.75 per transaction will apply.
  2. 10 free cheque deposits per membership, following that a $0.50 fee per cheque deposited will apply.

Each withdrawal conducted at non-Rediteller ATMs will be charged at $2.00 per transaction.

* The Monthly Membership Balance is calculated by adding together the minimum savings, investment and lending balances held in the membership during the course of the month. The Your Choice VISA credit card balance is not taken into account in assessing the Monthly Membership Balance. 

2. Why have NECU’s transaction fees changed?

Providing transaction accounts to our members costs NECU a certain amount of money for each transaction. The fees charged to our members are intended to partially recoup the cost of providing these transactions.

We recently conducted a review of the costs associated with providing transaction accounts and found that they had increased significantly since the last change to our transaction structure.

As a result, we have adjusted the fees in an attempt to ensure we recover a more accurate percentage of the cost of providing transactions accounts.

3. Can I avoid paying a higher level of transaction fees?

NECU’s has a long standing philosophy of ensuring that all members can, depending on their transaction habits, enjoy fee free banking. This philosophy is maintained with the recent changes to the transaction fee structure.

By limiting the number of transactions you conduct in line with the number of free transaction allocated to your Monthly Membership Balance, it is possible to pay no fees on your NECU membership.

By modifying the way you use your New England Credit Union Ltd accounts you can minimise or even avoid transaction fees:

  1. Plan your transactions each week to reduce the frequency of your withdrawals.
  2. Instead of making small, frequent withdrawals, plan fewer, larger withdrawals.
  3. Where possible, withdraw cash when making an EFTPOS purchase rather than using ATMs as an EFTPOS purchase and withdrawal made together count as one transaction.
  4. Request a receipt during your ATM transaction to confirm the available balance in your account.
  5. When using your VISA Access card to make purchases at EFTPOS outlets, use the ‘CR’ button if no cash out is required.
  6. Consolidate accounts and loans from other financial institutions to your accounts at New England Credit Union Ltd
  7. Consolidate a number of existing NECU memberships to increase your Monthly Membership Balance.

4. When does the new fee structure commence?

The new fee structure commences from 1 July 2008. The first time the revised fees will be debited to your accounts will be 31 July 2008.