By LT blogger
In his album, Mankani Angu, Australia-based Zambian musician Larry Maluma has a song titled Every Bank Is A Robber. Well, time allowing, that is a topic needing intense discussion.
Anyhow in Zambia, the gazetted minimum wage is K260, 000.00 per month but Barclays Bank Zambia, which has just been chosen as the Bank of the Year, will ask you to pay an extra K200,000 per-month if you want to bank with them as a Prestige Customer. They call it Club Membership, the same term the Afrikaners were using just after apartheid was abolished in South Africa to deny a Black African entrance to some pubs, claiming it to be a members pub only.
Well in Zambia, we know that the majority live on less than a dollar a day. In fact, 60 percent of the population is poor. But Barclays does not care if you are unable to afford the K200, 000 every month. As a customer, you have to go to the general banking sections and cannot also go to certain branches. And where you can, you will have a few tellers attending to the over-100 of you while next door in the same bank, you have three or four tellers attending to the so-called prestige members.
Whichever way you look at it, I do not think this is the kind of banking we need in Zambia yet. This is cheap and segregative in its absolute extreme. There is certainly no room for that in Zambia right now until we perhaps empower our people. South Africa, which has a far better economy than Zambia, does not have such a system.
[pullquote]I tried to reason and explain to them that the client is theirs and not mine. As a compromise, they offered to accept the K300, 000 but said they will charge my uncle K200,000 for membership. I said hell no and went to Longacres Branch, which was the recommended bank[/pullquote]
My personal experience at Barclays Bank made me wonder what our government is doing if they can allow such kind of business practices. Little wonder our politics are now segregative, based on tribal lines. One wonders where the spirit of One Zambia, One Nation has gone.
I wanted to deposit some money for some uncle of mine who needed the money to buy medication.He needed K300, 000. I decided to go the nearest Barclays Bank, which for me was Arcades Shopping Centre. I was made to wait inline for 30 minutes only to be told I could not deposit the money because the account holder was not prestige.
I tried to reason and explain to them that the client is theirs and not mine. As a compromise, they offered to accept the K300, 000 but said they will charge my uncle K200,000 for membership. I said hell no and went to Longacres Branch, which was the recommended bank. Mind you, I do not bank with them.
On arrival at Longacres, I saw a big sign for Barclays parking, when I got to the gate they would not allow me to park in the Barclays Parking area because I had no prestige card to show the security guy that I was prestige member. So, I went looking for space to park my car, having found it, I went inside the bank.
There, I stood on the queue for about for 20 minutes before I discovered I had to pick a ticket from an automatic machine at the door. Yet, when I was entering, there was no one to advise me of that. So, I went back to the machine and back in the queue.
In the end, it took me two hours to deposit 300 pin including all the movements. The first thing I did after leaving the bank was to phone my uncle and advise him to come to Lusaka in person next time he needed money from me. His response was that he has been told so by many people, and so, he has now gone to another bank.
In the end, Barclays has lost a client. Well, they may think, it is just one client, and not a major one for that matter. But if they do not give a damn about one client, why should they be supported, even if they have been here for a long time. It seems Barclays still has a colonial mentality, and wants to conduct itself like those financial institutions on Wall street who do not care about the man on Main Street.
Our minds are still fresh on how this same bank closed branches in several towns throughout the country when certain companies that used to employ people there closed. Some of these branches included those in Luanshya and Kabwe. With the mines having closed, Barclays thought they had no business being there.
However, when other competitor banks took over these branches, and when these towns proved their resilience, we saw Barclays going back there. In fact, they went further than that, opening branches in almost all areas including at markets in such areas as Lusaka’s Mtendere area.
But even with that, it seems the only person Barclays cares about are the Prestige Customers, not the common man in Mtendere who cannot afford K200, 000 per-month because that is the money he pays for his rentals as he struggles to put food on the table, send his children to school and pay hospital bills.
In case there is any doubt as to the meaning of prestige, it simply means the social ranking of a person. For you and me, who do not have a high social ranking, we do not matter much to Barclays. In fact, they are not even willing to assist us achieve that level of prestige. They only want those who have already achieved it.
Efforts by Lusakatimes to get a response from Barclays Bank to this article proved unfruitful. However the Barclays website does say this about Prestige banking:
First class service from a world class bank
You get the comprehensive range of services you would expect from one of the world’s leading international banks. Personal financial services which help you make the most of your money and your time. These include current accounts with easy access through our extensive ATM network or any of our branches; savings accounts designed to add weight to your bank balance – so that the more you save, the more you earn; and loans, which can be arranged to meet a wide range of purposes, from buying a house to paying for school fees.
Dedicated support and assistance
What’s more, you will receive a dedicated service from your own appointed Prestige Banker who will be able to introduce you to the wider range of services available from the Barclays Group.
Special attention
Your Barclays Prestige Banker will have the experience to help ensure that your requirements are well looked after. They will be proactive in their approach and do what they can to ensure that banking with us is rewarding.
For a competitive monthly fee you will benefit from a number of special services, including longer opening hours, free standing orders, free money transfers, a reduced tariff, a Visa Electron Debit Card and access to our Prestige Banking Centres.
As a Christian I should not say things like this but this is stupid Sh@t.
LAZ this is when if ever you ha nutts you should bring about a civil suit. Knowing our lawyers they probably do not know that public lawsuits are plausible.
Let a brother repent and ask the good Lord to punish these evil people. Prestige my goodness is this what imperialism has now become?
I agree with this whole statement. I had to close my account with Barclays due to their bad customer service. In particular the Longacres branch. In all of Zambia, I have never experienced such inefficiceincy and general lack of regard for customers as I did with this branch. The problem with Zambian Banks is that they think they are doing us a favor when getting our money. This is no wonder most people would rather bury their money under a mango tree that have to deal with this nonsence
We the diaspora can force change by writing to state house and flooding media in Zambia plus businesses with complaints. Don’t send emails only send written letters until someone is upset enough to do something.
Barclays is just there to steal as an organization. Small banks like Indo are better off.
I respect the opinion of whoever this is but come on, how many banks are there in Zambia that you would be flustered by the business model of a single bank.
Please people we are in a free market and the only way you make a business “behave” in a free market is by walking with your money because money talks. You have so many options in terms of banks to use.
If I’m not happy with Lenovo, I’ll buy Dell (as an example). If I’m not happy with Coca-cola, I’ll buy Pepsi-Cola or Apple-Max. We have options in a free market and if companies see their revenue falling due to people walking, they’ll “behave”.
If you’re not happy with Barclays, go to Stanbic or Finance Bank or Ecobank or Access Bank. The days of socialism are long gone. We now have options.
missed the word “wrote” in the first sentence on post #7.
#2 what lawsuit are you talking about? And to the author whoever you are, bringing in the MMD Govt in this article is totally out of line and unacceptable. Barclays Bank is publicly traded company and if you have issues with the way they conduct business, you have two options a) Don’t give them your business b) Go and petition at their shareholders annual general meeting.
The MMD government has created an enabling environment to ensure that you exercise your option (a) by liberating the banking sector and you have other good competing products on the market for your uncle like at ZANACO. Barclays has the right to offer First class service at a fee.
You can’t buy an ECONOMY TICKET and demand to be put in BUSINESS CLASS in the name of apartheid. Pay for BUSINESS CLASS.
MMD Chief bootlicker if the common decency and social hierarchy of a people is threatened, law provides avenues for lawyers and government to sue on behalf of the people. The MMD as part of government has the responsibility to uphold the words stated in out anthem Stand and sing of Zambia proud and free. Free from the oppressive nature of the colonial british of which island barclays originates. Hints of favoritism or prejudice should always be squashed stat.
The author does not understand banking or how banks make money. If he is not happy with this arrangement at Barclays he can try, Stanbic, Zanaco, StanChat, FNB, Finance Bank etc…There is no apartheid in charging a fee for clients that belong to a certain club of banks. If the gazetted minimum wage are at 260K why would you want to buy this expensive product which is probably targeted at the elite or middle income earners? Do some research unless you just don’t understand banking we will conclude that your issue with Barclays has nothing to do with apartheid but more to do with your ignorance.
Boolicker, you started very well but missed it along the way……though MMD is in power, there is a difference between them and Govt. So who has created am enabling environment……please look at the broader picture (Govt) than focusing on the niche (MMD).
Barclays debited me twice on a single transaction of K2m.They refused to acknowledge the failure by their ATM.
I closed my prestige account which i held for a long time, Shame on BBZ!!!
Prestige banking is a club and you have to pay to be a member. We have Prestige banking here (Botswana) at Barclays and Stanbic have what they call Private banking. Each bank has it’s own name for that service but which is intrinsically the same. Don’t join it if you can’t afford it – that’s no apartheid.
Lusaka Times be careful what you write. This is not worth publishing at all. Why are you publishing views of some disgruntled fellow? You can go visit all banks you will find that they all have this type of product and perhaps they even charge more than Barclays. I hope Barclays sues you for this libelous letter maybe your retrenched blogger will pay the legal bills.
Leave the damn bank if it doesn`t serve your interests.Go to uncle joes bank,Zanaco,Investrust etc and mix freely with the chintubwingi were you belong.Leave high end services to those they meant for.Every soceity has classes of peaple,it`s a question of were you belong and which company`s serve the class you are in,be it banking,shopping etc For example Shoprite is for guys like you coz you worry about the ngwee for much and SPAR for guys like us coz we are prestige.Just work hard,maybe you will join us at prestige one day.Life is not fair but said it should.It sucks Agreed.
Is this a sign that Lusaka Times has daft editors or reporters? They don’t even have a clue about product differentiation sure? In a liberal market, customers choose the kind of services or products they can afford. If your housing allowance is K200pin, why should you want to look for a house in Kabulonga? Spare us from this nonsense!!!
#15 stopping threatening people with your thieving lawyers that have r a p e d the national treasury in the last 10 years. Learn to allow people to express dissenting views than threaten people with lawsuits for sharing their experience. Just debate as the MMD dogs are doing than threaten people. How shallow. You must have gone to school in Roy Welensky era where the only way to reason with people was to shut them up with threats of incarceration. That is just so 1960/70s. This is 2010 please.
LT Blogger, just shut up and stop wasting people’s time with your disgruntled analysis. Do you have a grudge against Barclays? Do you know that the same bank has an account for low income people for? Do you understand the word segmentation? Prestige is for those who ask for it. If it not for you dont go there. Banking is a personal choice. It is not mob psychology were you have to enlist the support of other people. After all you are not going to save for the people you are trying to impress. Like others have said IT IS A FREE MARKET.
Ba LT blogger
If you are sick just go to the hospital instead of peddling insanity here. Just like Mr. Capitalist put it, you have options in this world. Happinnes is a choice. If you can’t afford GAME STORES, go to SOWETO. U cannot take GAME STORES to task if you saw a similar product selling half the price at Kamwala. If u cannot afford a meal at INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, go to makeshift markets and buy nshima at 3pin5. For my cousins from Southern Province when they cannot afford a fare in these luxury coaches they jump on the Train Economy Class. If you think some company or bank owes you a happy life you are mistaken, work hard and earn it. You enter a bank and cannot even see the machine where to get a ticket, were u blind. learn to check your environment for signs.U re just…
@#7Mr. Capitalist. For the first time I am agreeing with your analysis. In Economics we call it opportunity cost. If you can’t afford banking with Barclays Bank you have the right to go to any Bank that you think will offer you the services you want.Whilst the author has the right to complain and is fully entitled to his opinion this doesn’t in any way amount to apartheid.Its just a game of business in a liberalized economy.
#15, regardless od whether other banks behave the same or not, the writer has given account of his personal experience with this bank and as long as that is true no one can sue anyone. Quite frankly, I experienced even a worse situation with Barclays while in Zambia last year.
The LT blogger has poor mentality. People left the villages to live in town and enjoy. The bank saw these kinds of pipo and gives them added value service for their hard earned money.
If u cannot afford to stay in town, go to the village where water is free, masuku are free, going to relieve yourself is free by just digging a pit latrine or going to the nearby bush.
U are crying for cheap things here, we won’t help you just work hard. foolish chap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would it be ideal to compare the so called “Prestige Banking” to the the so called “High Cost services” obtaining at most government hospitalz?
visit ZANACO during monthends and see the long queues of pipo trying to cash on the ATMs compared to the queues you find at other banks.
#15 wyclif mwenza- I support you 100%. BBZltd have all sorts of packages to suit every status. I have been a customer for 20 years in the Current Account cartegory and have not encountered any problems. If you want to join the golf club, you first buy golf clubs. It is as simple as that. Amenshi balinganya no bunga.
Mr. Capitalist – 3 E’s steering economic and MMD Chief Bootlicker , I agree with you on this one 100%. The author is somehow trying to mislead people. The Bank house opposite Arcade is for Private Banking. Its not for the low income group. He must understand that in all countries most banks have such facilities. If you cant afford go Building Society dont just whine.
If you want smaller lines, go to another bank or pay for Prestige. I bank at Barclay’s, no Prestige, and am quite happy. I know when to go when the q’s are small.
Apartheid? I take it you never visited SA during apartheid as it was 1000 times worse and demeaning than waiting in line at a bank.
Stupid article.
LT Blogger your facts are wrong. I was recently in Lusaka and went to the Prestige Barclays Bank at Arcades and I was assisted even though Iam not a member. I found a very young man who came out to me to be a true professional. Although I know about this Prestige facility at Barclays, he explained to me that next time I must access services at Manda Hill. Lt Blogger ulabeja ewe (you are not telling the truth). Maybe you went there with your blogging mentality.
Where did Mr Capitalist see MMD in the article? All he thinks is MMD.
Apologies to Mr Capitalist. I meant MMD Chief Boot Licker. A thousand apologies.
Zambia’s service industry is pathetic….Zanaco,BBZ,ZANACO ,name them,suckers at counters are so rude as though you are abusing them or something,same behavior some people who work in shopping malls.
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but ama bloggers muletukana, LT can u start language screening. We need intelligent discussions. Anyway i guess the point is this blogger has had issues with the ban and is expressing his opinion and not public policy. Just like I lost money via VISA but the bank replaced all of it of course with lots of follow up, i have gone to another bank but still maintains the account there coz i have had better service there than Zanaco! If u dont like the service, find another bank, simple!!!!!
#13 Sorry to hear your sad story but something similar has happened to me twice where the ATM debited me for money I did not collect, unlike you I was refunded on both times! I find it hard to believe that you were not as Barclays have a very good system of detecting whether you collected the money or not! As to the whole topic at hand I agree with many bloggers who feel that there is so much choice at the disposal of the citizenry. There is not need to call any bank names just go with you class!
If you don’t like it why not choose another bank, barclays is not the only bank around. To me it sounds like you are punching above your weight because you want to be a prestige class or whatever but you can’t afford it . It’s called living within your means not aparthied. Whats next you will be complaining that luxuries that you want are not affordable so that is racism. Stick to banks withing your pay grade and this issue will be solved instead of opting for ones you cannot afford so as to keep up with the jones
I have been a Barclays client for over 30 years all over the world and their service is fantastic! They keep my millions $, £ !
grumbling is what this man is doing. you can as well go to conman bank along nkwazi road and get everything at half the rate. goodluck
these pepo are stealing from ‘US’ poor pepo.. We cant afford
I totally agree with #15,16,17,20 and 22.BBZ has other products like Tonse Account with a minimum balance K 40pin which I think can suit the author and his uncle.I now believe that an empty makes the loudest noise.These are the guys who go to Manda hill with K62pin hoping a buy a designers jeans.Go to Kamwala and get the chinese brand.If you talk less and work more you would probably be opening a prestige account with Barclays.You should have swift cash to send money to your uncle than going to the bank with K300pin,are you crazy!!!So you to deposit K300pin in prestige account???iwe kwisa???Be serious
So much for cristles…The author has some point.In as much as we agree that it a liberal market.BBZ has an ethical duty to offer reasonable service to all classes of their client.For example,why should a prestige client have 10 bankers at his disposal while us the ordinary client have 1 banker per 100 of us?Only a stupid person would call this as normal business practice.
After all the time BBZ was closing branches in Zambia it was the time when the bank’s product/service was so expensive that ordinary zambian could nt afford.
After realising that the money was in the ordinary zambians BBZ opened branches evrywhere including in markets,toilets to mention bt a few.
If us ordinary zambian would withdraw from BBZ…tht would be the end of BBZ.U so called prestige cnt sustain the bank.
Iam withdrawing all my cash from these ba bunu…………….damn i cant believe this is happening in zambia and not SA
I didn’t know Barclays has such an account (Prestige).I need one seriously
:o I know we are entitled to have opinions about how we see things, but some opinions explain our as a nation we even lag behind in development. This article is that one example. Firstly I don’t think it’s Barclays fault that the legal minimum wage in Zambia is absurd. Look at the ordinary food basket. Are you going to blame the marketeer for selling fruits and vegetables at a price that does not enable the person getting the legal minimum wage? Barclays are free to sell their products as they please, they are not a charity. They are in business to make money for the shareholders if one cant afford their service simply go elsewhere. Next you will be saying some pubs have an apartheid style because their beer is expensive.
Zedian
You’re the one…..that’s why these Mosi,shake shake,chibuku bulk (Arab),timwenge,kankoyo and kajeve
#44 you’ve made my day
# 36 walasa.
Customer service in Zambia is generally pathetic, unless of course you’re fairer skinned or walk in with an air of ‘Rich Boy’ about you. That said, I also experienced the same treatment by Arcades Barclays, and I got bitter. But then after thinking rationally about it, I realised that it’s the way of this world. You can’t really take me to court because I can afford to live in Kabulonga, and you can’t – regardless of whatever argument you adopt.
prestige for c.e.os their is also pangno pangno for poor people like me.lol
Longacres Barclays Bank stole my money!!!
This is a very simple issue I don’t see why people are attacking the LT Blogger.He went to Barclays and thats the experience he had.Are you going to sue someone for having a bad experience albeit out of ignorance of banking policy.LT blogger wanted to send money and it proved a complex issue.Why in this day and age should you spend 2 hours sending money anyhow? I would also be pissed.On the other hand we live in age where there is choice-if baclays pisses you off go to another bank simple and according to the article thats what LT bloggers uncle did.So now Barclays should educate the public on its policy so misunderstandings like this don’t happen.ok next article…
In fact if you want lower charges, Barclays has just reduced most of their fees. Even their ATM fees are the lowest in the market. They have the widest number of ATMs across the country. They are the bank of choice!
Ba Xwama…..which money????nensoni iyo
#51…….wele Barclays 4 – ……….Eagle 0
you get what you pay for, thats life, no aparthide here, if you want more than the minimum customer service you have to pay for it, a beef steak in holiday inn is more expensive than in kamwala market, although both can be from the same cow. VIP service cant be free get real lol
LT Blogger my dear your complaint should be that you had to wait in line for over two hours to deposit money, while prestige bankers have ten clerks waiting to attend to one person…….something like that
I believe the role of the banks in Zambia needs to managed from a developmental point of view. The ecnomic development of any country is related to the cost of money and to inflation. If you control inflation and set a prime lending rate which all banks shall use then there will more depth (no segration) in the services the bank provides as they will be differentiated on service and product development and power will be with the people.Currently bank treasurers are quite happy TBills will meet their budgets. The danger is there will be no real sector development as there is no finance, a thin middle class since jobs are minimal and all the best brains will fight for fewer chances and never attain best practice. Once we define the role of the banks in economic emancipation, we will see good
things and begin to enjoy great customer experience. Little wonder what the private banking is offered in Zambia since the private banker cannot go and stand in a queue to pay my bills noting these cant be done online. The private banker is unable to advise on the financial investments one should do, there is no real private banking as being provided with biscuits and a tank of cold water is not private banking as we know it in the developed markets.
BBZ and all other banks should really look at their business model to see where best the efforts should be directed, They need to provide other channels of transacting rather than predominantly using cash – they must invest more in more electronic platforms, maybe after their middle east head offices approve as it is costly to implement.
Barclays is the worst bank I have known. Even in Chipata-Eastern Province-where I was 1 month ago, I found a client who was complaining that he had instructed the bank to transfer money to south Africa, but two weeks later, that transfer had not been effected. I believe the staff are demoralised as the were all given Grade “c” the klast time they were graded.So they are protesting against management
What do you expect from an Administration of RB who JUSTIFIES SHOOTING at Zambian citizens, like we still fighting for freedom? There are a lot of wrong things happening that are ‘status discriminatory ‘ in Zambia. Last time Lt showed had working miners being served their pay through an small aperture, others were waiting out in the sun for their turn! Where are union officials? Where are the MPs? They do not care!This kind of service discriminatory.LAZ is an ineffective organization that is full of ‘knowledgeable scums in the Zambian law’ and yet only responds when issues suits its interests.LAZ is not interested in the welfare of ‘common’ Zambians or identifying evil acts that defiles or rapes the Zambian Constitution foreign Investors are conducting.Zambians are better off…
Pipo have come down heavily on the blogger who has written this article . He/she perhaps , in frustration , failed to distinguish between the two ( private banking & commoners banking) or might not be familiar with this business practice by some banks. Not all of us live in big cities . He/she has nevertheless stated that He/she does not think that Zambia is ready for this type of banking , which brings us to the question of whether the free enterprise model is really what is best for Zambia at it’s current stage of development.
Its so sad that the lowly paid suffer this, but in some countries we have visited, even the person that gets a low wage is served the same way as the one with a lot of cash in the bank,besides in some countries there isn’t even what you call the minimum balance. when you finish the cash, then ni problem yobe iyo! I
There is no banking in Zed just ATMing, the banks are sweet and nice until you deposit your money then they close their doors throw you out and tell you to use their usually unsheltered ATMs and charge you for daring to enter the bank. They should change their name to Barclays ATM Plc. and BOZ should be ATMOZ
People work up and smell the coffee! There are two options- regular banking at no fee and private/prestige banking at a fee with access to many amenities not available to those that are not fee-paying members. All banks worldwide (e.g. Citibank, Chase, Standard Chartered, etc.) have similar services. It’s a business decision-if you don’t like or cannot afford it (prestige/private banking membership) use the regular (fee free) banking channel or take your business somewhere else. This is a business decision and the shareholders and board members expect management to come up with ways to be profitable, and private banking membership is one of them.:o
I am a BBZ account holder (not prestige) but has no complaints on the way I am treated at my Branch at Longacres. I also marvel at how people stick to some banks where there are always very long queues, both in the bank and at ATMs.
Ahem. Isn’t it possible to offer advise to the blogger on the services offered by Barclays without making him sound like an illterate buffon and without, those of us who have can afford Prestige Banking, making the rest of us who can’t feel like we just don’t work hard enough? This was the bloggers opinion, set him straight if you must, but do so a kind manner.
Very soon blogger LT will release an article saying”DSTV apartheid style service” because the full bouquet cost more the 260,000. If you cant afford it, get the compact or mini bouquet. if you cant afford that too, get a free to air decorder. you have a choice. You want exclusivity you have pay for it. it doesnt matter what type of service industry you are in, its the same everywhere. Banks, Hotels, Airlines, shopping malls.etc
#66 is right,DSTV even has for K 27pin were you just watch ZNBC and National Geographical channel chapwa.It’s the same even with us men,you target a lady you know suits you and you can afford her.Not you start proposing Britney Spears when you earn K 1,650,500 after deduction….kwisa???
Banks should stop stealing their customers’ money when they charge for ATM services because Technology is meant to reduce their overall cost of doing business by increasing efficiency, reducing employee numbers, ultimately reducing labour costs, increasing security and eliminating risk and reducing stationery costs.
The practice of Debiting accounts for any withdrawal should be discarded because its archaic. They already benefit from their customers’ money by earning very high interests whenever they lend it out
People, accept that you cannot afford a Premium service and move on. If I follow your thinking, and that of the author, then we should protest against Mercedes Benz charging a premium for their cars. We all want to own one (a Benz), and (using your thinking) they are perpetuating “Apartheid” by charging more for their obvioulsy superior cars. Get real!!! And while we’re at it, lets petition the Swiss banks to allow us to open accounts with our Kwacha! This socialist mentality is why Zambia is so backward!!! When someone makes it, we want to bring him down, rather than respect them and let them apprefciate the fruits of their labour. We need to get away from this thinking. WORK HARD, MAKE MONEY AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR WEALTH!! For those who believe in socialism and equality, dream…
let the *****s go and rot where they come form..where on earth can a middle Zambian find such money to waste?
this bank is targeting a certain clientale and the had that right.
This service product is everywhere, Planes,ships,hotels,hospitals,pleasure resorts,trains, schools, universities, and even some churches !!!!!
Its for a sole purpose of privacy, security,convinience and time saving.
It not apartheid. Thats misleading and dangerous thinking…. Would like to see your State President standing in a bank queue with you? Or you see Mr Tiger Woods just walk in the bank to cash a cheque with you? Can you imagine the embarrassment that they would go through having to deal with Hero-worshippers and idolisers? Eh?
Personally, the banking industry in Zambia is a quintessence of a market which is becoming concentrated. In such a market, banks view each other as competitors and they need to differentiate their products so that they can serve a certain segment of the market. Banks worldwide do the same thing, with HSBC Bank offering the so called Premium Banking service to the affluent, not only in the UK, but globally. And the main reason they are doing this is to cushion themselves against the talked about double recession. It still remains the only bank in the UK not to have been scathed by the effects of the global recession!
Barclays Bank is no exception. I trust Barclays in Zambia offers different products to different segments of the market. Offering Prestige to all their customers would not…
Barclays Bank is no exception. I trust Barclays in Zambia offers different products to different segments of the market. Offering Prestige to all their customers would not only be pointless, but would mean cannibalising other products offered by the bank. Therefore, I see no apartheid and am saddened that the author of the article above even had time to think in these lines. All we need to do is choose the products that match our affluence levels rather than claim what we cannot afford.
#52 just zip it, you surely dont want to wind me up. Kumanyoko!
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Mixed reaction for me
What a pathetic article!! Man, you need to go back to school to learn english from scratch! Don’t misuse a language you hardly understand & misquote!
#75 God is a living God serve and worship him for u will be blessed if you do not u shall ever be cursed and perish in hell
iwe wyclif mwenza dont intimidate ba LSK times nishi kanshi! This is a public forum. Let the PIPO talk.
i hate to say this and agree with mmd chief bootlicker but he got a point! u cant buy an econmy class ticket and demand to sit in first class. classic!
Me! before you published this article you should have researched more! otherwise you don’t know Wat you talking about. and all the sht about apartheid Wat you talking about!!! i have banked both prestige and standard banking i understand Wat its all about. if you want fast and convenient banking pay more if you cant afford then go the stand way, wats wrong for paying more for an extra service?
There is an interesting discussion going on at the zambian-economist /com blog. Title:
12 reasons why profit margins are low in Zambia (Guest Blog)
Let help you become financially literate and become rich and the bank will be chasing you! How? Did U all hear that Herbalife, a NYSE listed company which have made $4.5 already this year want distributors in Zambia? Will you like to be my guest to attend for free an official meeting 9am on 27th November 2010 @ Lusaka Intercontinental Hotel? Invite people who need some extra income to meet our top International trainers. To be my quest kindly quote my name Olatunde Adeniran and reference no 46-182542. Get back to me on [email protected] or +267-71672840 with your views before and after the meeting.
This story makes my heart to bleed ,this bank can go to hell .They are responsible for the under development we have is Zambia.This is the most useless bank in the world,selective it can not survive anyway in the world with such practices.They are more interested in our money than giving us as Zambians a good service,i also close my account with them because i could not stand their selective approach.Government must intervene quickly we have been insulted a lot by this bank.
Ba Mambala Ba Barclays mwalitusha pa mabwe.U give us loans like hotcakes,we get retrenched and even get all our benefits.With the high unemployment rates in zambia,where will i get another job asap and be able to support my family??? Sata come sort them out.
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Try ZANACO especially Civic Centre Branch in Lusaka, you willcry I tell you. It took me 2hrs 30minutes to deposit a cheque, I have never experienced that anywhere. Even the cheque deposit slip is something else, the slip does not even make sense. ZANACO employees still have GRZ parastatal mentality despite the mordern technology from Rabo Bank at their disposal.
In Case you did not know, Barclays Bank was founded on Slave Trade Money!
So I hate this Bank because it has a lot of descriminatory, austere and draconian rules. Rules reminiscent to keeping out the oppressed, the down trodden and the majority of Africans who sweated blood, death and imprisonment for the money. Barclays Bank Banking practices cannot be allowed to go on. Alas, our Governments are bought, our ministers are bought and the Black people working for Barclays bank are bought and hence Barclays Bank acts with impunity. We should continue to remind Barclays Bank of the Morality on its shoulders, the deaths and the suffering of the black people that created the wealth that it basks in todate.
Stop complaining…….. Priority banking is just that, for those that can afford and do not want to waste time, thats like saying, business class on a plan is arpathied because we all do not get to sit in big seats and we have 5 stewards to 200 people and business class have 5 stewards to less than 20. This is a childish article, what kind of journalist are you? Just because you do not have the money to pay for priority banking… You should view that as an incentive to pull up your socks, and say one day, i will be able to park in that car park, one day, i shall be able to afford that. Not get jealous at everyone on the otherside of the fence because you are not there!!
*****s!!!
I agree with all of you who say this is just a case of sour grapes from someone who is not even a Barclays customer. Again, LT, why peddle one disgruntled person’s views and pass them off as “newsworthy”? Puuulizzzz!
$40 per month is just too much when the only benefit is shorter queues! Monthly service charges here range from $0 on most accounts to $5 on some accounts depending on monthly deposits, with the quality of service far better than even the so called ‘prestige’.
it is bullshit..try access bank,UBA and Ecobank, they offer far better services than barclays. Zanaco is also better on rates.. I no longer save money in barclays, just use it when I am travelling out of the country or town for ATM visa electron, even the same, it is not any safer, so collegue has been swindled by using barclays and stanchart unsecure visa electrons..Barclays zambia is making more than the services it gives,.smell the coffee..demand more and barclays may just woke up
Very saddened to learn this is happening in a bank, in my home country. Excellent service should be served to everyone, or at least. People need to boycott the bank!
In Zed I bank with Barclays Unza branch. They are a little bit okay. Here in the USA, I am a Wachovia account holder. My dear brethren, there is nothing like prestige banking at Wachovia. Those guys are just trying to continmue their STooLpidity. Why should I pay so much to have an account? Mwe mbwaa mwee!
Barclays Bank must be checked, we do not need to follow their kind of business these banks must be given guidelines on which to operate. In Zambia these companies are at liberty to exploit the banking system in order to harvest as much profits as they can. This is unacceptable charging such kind of sums of money just to have an account. I live in Finland and have an account with Nordea bank, you do not need to pay anything to have that account, same thing in Bank of Ireland even if it is in ruins. Those kind of things are only happening in Zambia because the banks are too stingy and in a hurry to reap off the people. Besides, the govt is too dormant to check and control these businesses, bunda bwakuland aama investors even when they are just masquerading!
Generally Barclays has never been impressive, we have seen the retrenching and re-employing and has a number of cases in court concerning terminal benefits. The state should move in and protect the citizens.
All wishful thinkers, you who follow an articlke written by a ghot blogger wake up this is a matter of a jealous fellow. Unfortunately Barclays is and will remain a major player in the economy, they have been so for almost 100 years. So those of you not happy u can as well go to hell because nothing will break Barclays!
Barclays not only has Prestige banking in Kenya that costs 71,350 Zambian Kwacha, they also have Premier banking that requires that you maintain a salary of 14.86 million Zambian Kwacha a month. Fortunately, there are some very profitable home-grown banks like Equity and Family which charge customers nothing and have no minimum opening / operating balance requirements. They should set up shop in your country.
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