Transfer fee at BCA

Being a loyal client of BCA for so many years, I am disappointed to say that this bank has indeed turned itself into such a grand empire that it has somehow gotten lost on how to treat its customers properly -- not to mention the various inconsistent rules it has made for itself. At least my experience on Nov. 13 can serve as an example of this.

I went to BCA's Mulia Tower branch on Nov. 13 to make a payment for my credit card (Visa Bank Niaga) through a transfer. I understand that any transfer made to a non-BCA account by a customer of BCA incurs a Rp 2,500 charge per transaction. However, the teller informed me that the charge for transferring money to pay for my credit card would cost Rp 10,000 instead of Rp 2,500. I asked the teller and the manager why. They replied that any transfer made to pay for a credit card payment (except for a Citibank credit card -- which only costs Rp 1,000 each) had to be charged Rp 10,000. I was totally perplexed by this answer.

There must be a good reason behind this decision to charge four times higher for more or less the same process.

We are in an era of a non-cash society. Banks should help to generate and facilitate more transactions through the banking system -- not the other way around.

CLARA CHRISTINE

Jakarta