Banks must reveal all hidden charges

China's often impenetrable banking system is set to become a little more user-friendly, after banking authorities have forced banks to be open about service charges and transaction fees.

A number of banks in Beijing have published their service charges ahead of April 1, the deadline set by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, a move to curb unreasonable service fees.

The Bank of China, Mingsheng Bank, Bank of Beijing and Agricultural Bank of China have released details of their fees, available both online and in their branches, according to the Beijing Daily.

The Jintai Lu branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) had yesterday posted a list of service fees in a prominent place near the entrance.

The lobby manager said that the list covers nearly 200 services ICBC offers.

"The list includes service charges for personal, business banking and international business," she said.

"We've listed the most-used services, but it's impossible for us to release all the charges, as there are too many," the lobby manager said.

However, statistics published by the China Banking Association in July last year, show that the number of bank services and products amounted to 1,076 in 2011, 226 of which are provided free of charge, and 850 attract charges.

For example, ICBC and Bank of China charge 10 yuan ($1.6) to issue an ATM card, whereas China Merchants Bank issues them for free.

American Kenneth Bermel, cofounder of Chinanetrix, an IT company, said the move is positive.

"I have accounts with ICBC and I know it charges for some services, but I don't know how much. Publishing the fees will protect our rights," he said.

The government plans to launch a new regulation to curb unreasonable bank charges. A draft of the commercial bank service fee management regulation was released last month, which requires banning commercial banks from charging fees on services such as bank receipt printing, cross-bank ATM inquiries and opening or closing bank accounts.

Bank revenues mainly come from the interest margin between deposits and loans, and charging for services, said a finance professor from the Research Center for Modern Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

"It's not easy to stop charging these fees. But both the banks and government should establish a transparent platform for customers to know how the fees are fixed," he said.

In the future, banks should pay more attention to the questions of how to provide a high-quality service, he said.