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yeehii
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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 Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 1:16 pm Post subject: moolah |
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From an English teacher's point of view, which is the best place to bank with in the KSA?
Would this bank have no monthly fees, no minimum deposit, good online banking and offer credit cards and top-notch service?
How does the banking scene in Saudi compare with the rest of the Middle East? |
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Sheikh Inal Ovar
Joined: 04 Dec 2005
Posts: 1208
Location: Melo Drama School
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Exactly how many jobs do you intend on having .. you posted the same on the UAE page ... |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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SABB is quite good: negligible or no fees; service is OK if you can avoid going to the branches; online banking excellent; lousy interest rates.
I just use them to get my moolah omar out of the country asap and for (infrequent) ATM withdrawals. |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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Saudi British Bank
Saudi American Bank
Saudi Fransi Bank
All are good.
You mentioned monthly fees. Fees for what? I don't know any bank that charges a monthly fee for having a bank account.
All those 3 offer good online banking, and offer multiple credit cards.
As for minimum deposit, there IS a minimum in I believe all banks in KSA. It varies from bank to bank. Call and find out. It ranges from 5,000 to 25,000 (for opening the account, but most can be withdrawn after account is made). |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| SABB is quite good: negligible or no fees; |
Not true. They charge SR70 for an electronic transfer, and SR50 for a simple bank draft. |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Van Norden wrote: |
| I just use them to get my moolah omar out of the country asap and for (infrequent) ATM withdrawals. |
You mean you use them to get Uncle Sam out of the country asap?
Moolah Omar does not exist, it has been replaced by the Fabulous Moolah (Lilian Ellison)!  |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Not true. They charge SR70 for an electronic transfer, and SR50 for a simple bank draft. |
You are wrong. What he said IS true:
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| negligible or no fees; |
He didn't say "no fees", rather, he said either it is no fees, or the fees are negligible. And I would wager that of people earning at least SR. 5,000, most would agree that SR. 50 or SR. 70 is "negligible", especially considering that it is a flat fee regardless of how much you transfer.
So if you transfer money once every 2 or 3 months, SR. 70 is nothing, and even if you transfer monthly, still SR. 70 is not a big deal.
And anyway, what bank does it for free? They all charge pretty much the same for wire transfers.
Furthermore, you are probably false in claiming that bank drafts cost SR. 50. I have had several bank drafts made over the years, both local and international, and I have been charged SR. 10 every time (Bank Saudi Fransi). So, I don't see how or why SABB would charge SR. 50 for the same.
And if one so desires, one can transfer money abroad for much cheaper than SR. 70, using any one of several money transfer companies, such as Western Union, Enjaz, Rajhi, etc. It ranges from SR. 20 to SR. 50, depending on country one is transferring to. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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When you send money abroad you can be hit three times.
First in the fee, then in the fee the recipient bank charges, and of course in the exchange rate.
In general if you are tranferring into anything else but dollars, then you may well get hit by about 3-4% on the exchange rate, and then you will have the fee on top. You may well find that the bank you are sending to collects as well.
Looking at my last statement it seems that they collect a fee of round about SR50, by the process of deducting it from the amount of currency you get for your riyals.
SpeedCash charges SR19, but you can't do it over the internet. The surcharge they put on the currency seems to come to around 3%.
As for getting a bank account, there are two factors to bear in mind. What bank your employer uses, and what bank is the correspondent bank of your home bank. If you have another bank to your employers there can be delays in getting your pay because his bank fesses up. If your bank is not the correspondent bank of your home country bank you can get hit for more charges, and more importantly the transfer can take a week longer.
Credit cards in Saudi carry an exorbitant rate of interest -- sorry financial charges  . It's 1.99% a month, or 23.8% per annum. SABB has also tried to scam you out of an additional 0.5% by 'offering' you insurance for non-payment (which in practice is making you pay for their insuring themselves), and letting the first two months free in case you don't notice it.
In its favour SABB internet banking is good and efficient. On the flip side because of idiotic SAMA requirements (foisted on the Saudis by the Yanks) it can be quite a saga actually getting the account opened in the first place - or it can be easy, as little is predictable in Saudi apart from the monotony. |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 8:24 am Post subject: |
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| Stephen Jones wrote: |
| ...you may well get hit by about 3-4% on the exchange rate |
What are you comparing SABB exchange rates with? In my experience their rates are usually around 1% worse (excluding transfer fee) than the rates quoted on the yahoo currency converter.
| Stephen Jones wrote: |
| Looking at my last statement it seems that they collect a fee of round about SR50 |
The net-transfer fee varies (SR50 or SR70) according to where you're sending the money. |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| He didn't say "no fees", rather, he said either it is no fees, or the fees are negligible. |
Uhhhhh....... could you deconstruct that again, this time in English?
| Quote: |
| most would agree that SR. 50 or SR. 70 is "negligible |
I've never taken it upon myself to speak for 'most people' but, like you (see below) I would say that these fees are in fact high when compared to other banks. I have bought bank drafts for SR 10 in two Saudi banks.
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| you are probably false in claiming that bank drafts cost SR. 50. |
I'll overlook the faulty syntax, but I do wonder why you are so bothered about what I wrote.
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I don't see how or why SABB would charge SR. 50 for the same.
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Whether or not you see the 'how or why' is irrelevant - the fact is that SAAB do charge SR50 for a bank draft. I had to pay exactly this amount just a few months ago. And yes, you are right that most banks do not charge this amount.
So, thank you for proving my point precisely. Even if it took you some time to do so. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| For remittance to the UKofGB&NI you can't beat Speedcash. Don't even need an account - but you do need an Igama ! |
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