TymeBank CEO calls 6,500% ID check fee hike a ‘tax on the poor’
The Department of Home Affairs has hiked the fee for verifying your ID from 15 cents to R10.
Short of money, coins taken from pocket. Pexels/Nicola Barts
702’s Bongani Bingwa speaks with TymeBank CEO Karl Westvig.
Listen below:
Westvig has slammed the hike in the cost of verifying IDs, calling it a 'tax on the poor'.
The Department of Home Affairs has raised the price by 6,500% from 5c to R10.
Home Affairs argues that this is necessary to maintain the verification system.
Westvig says this is a threat to affordable banking for those who need it most.
He says that the bank has no problem paying for better services, but they reject how much the price has changed and the short notice of the announcement.
“I do not think they took into account all the impacts of the peripheral entities and only really dealt with the major players.”
- Karl Westvig, CEO - TymeBank
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TymeBank currently does not charge monthly fees for customers, but Westvig worries this will not be sustainable with the price hike.
“It is easy to absorb these things with wealthy clients because R10 doesn’t impact their pocket.”
- Karl Westvig, CEO - TymeBank
“We certainly think sanity will prevail.”
- Karl Westvig, CEO - TymeBank
Scroll up to the audio player for more.