Banks strip businesses in Kosovo, 5 % tariffs for depositing metal money

Commercial banks in Kosovo are growing and burdening businesses, using high rates for services.

Only for the deposit of fine (metal), the fee is 5 percent of the deposit. This is considered a robbery for business and economic experts, which should not be allowed to happen. The BEC does not comment on this issue, meanwhile, the MZHE says the BQK is the only regulator for banks.

The owner of the bread oven “Doni” in Pristina, Avni Lusaj during the day works almost exclusively with enough money, and when they go to deposit the bank, it's taking over.

So he declares for Kosova Prees, explaining that for a thousand euros in deposit, the bank receives 50 euros, which, according to him, all profits remain.

It requires that this percentage be removed altogether, and if this does not happen at least to be reduced to 2%, from the current 5.

<x) I mean, if you'd better cut a little bit, get 2 percent, or take off nothing... Customers have enough metal money, so every deposit made in the bank has 5 percent”, Avniu says.

Even the chairman of the Mistors' Association, Burim Piraj, tells Kosovo that there are very few businesses that don't pay the 5 %s fee, and according to him, there are those big businesses that have separate bank contracts and that are probably not 5 %s of all businesses in the country.

He estimates that this amount is unfair, because, according to him, national currency banks cannot treat as goods and are obliged to accept as the consumer sends.

“Seting tariffs from banks for iron money, the currency treats it as a commodity and is anti-binding and once against legal”, Piraj says.

The professor at the economic faculty at Pristina University, Nagip Skiner, says he is notified of the move, as he calls it, not fair that commercial banks make at this very high rate.

He says that for economic stability and monetary stability, the Central Bank must forward commercial ones, monitor them, and in specific cases when they deviate off their economic path, take measures against them, respectively, to punish them.

I'm aware of these abuses that banks do. These too are some violations of consumer rights in a discriminated respect, because it costs them to pay 5 percent, which is beyond the context of the economic flows, respectively, banks that have to meet in favor of clientele... Although it is estimated that the economy is in the direction of an open market economy or free market, of course it is not all allowed or in the competencies of banks who do what they want with the clientele by their own means”, Svanter declares.

Economics analyst Jakup Bellaqa also claims that this 5 percent fee is not normal and that the move is unacceptable.

For storage, this is unacceptable, because it's not that expensive in the region either. This is unacceptable, so it's needed according to countries in the region and according to legal regulations. However, the supervisory role must be the Central Bank of Kosovo, it must intervene, it creates financial policies. So the CEC has to create financial stability, and this comes up in case it develops favourable customer policies, favourable and constructive, and not discriminatory policies that even harm deposits that are very high, 5 percent this isn't even in the region, it shouldn't be allowed”, says Bellaqa.

The Ministry of Economic Development blames it at the Central Bank of Kosovo.

Naim Zeqiri from the Public Relations Office in this ministry says the only authority that oversees banking activity in the country is the BEC, and this regulator holds responsibility.

While, the Kosovo Central Bank(BQK), as bank regulator in the country, has no firm stance on the move.

They claim they have no comment on what banks are doing at a rate of 5 percent.

On the other hand, chief executive at the Kosovo Banks Association, Petrit Balija, argues the price of banks. He says of Kosova pris that banks for every service and product that they offer have their own cost.

“in this sense also holds coins, security as well as their physical transport represent a considerable cost to the banking sector. Banks for most of their needs use the Kosovo Central Bank to make the deposit or withdraw the coins depending on the needs, a service offered by this institution. However, some of the banks in Kosovo, for a specific number/limited, do not trafficking their clients for currency deposits, yet the tax is done individually by each bank (not necessarily in the same condition) and done for large amounts of coins, which also represent huge costs for the bank industry” itself, Balija says.