NCB waives some fees amid COVID-19 in Jamaica

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced a suspension of some fees to assist customers impacted by COVID-19 in Jamaica.

In a statement a short while ago, NCB said conditions will apply to the various arrangements.

However, it did not detail the conditions.

In the meantime, the bank said it will continue to reach out to its customers in specific industries, such as tourism and distribution, that have been directly impacted by COVID-19.

It also said it is working to provide customised solutions to meet their needs.

Here are the new arrangements:

Waived for all customers

1. Penalty interest for late loan payments
2. Breakage fees for fixed deposits
3. Partial withdrawal fees for insurance policies
4. Late payment fees for credit cards (which will also apply to credit card balances generated between April 5 - 26, 2020).

Personal Customers
1. Customers may request a payment holiday on their unsecured, auto and mortgage loan facilities by emailing ncbcovidassist@jncb.com. Customers are asked to provide their full name, TRN, and branch where the loan was originated in the email.
2. Pay Advance facility for over 100,000 customers. This one-month loan facility helps support customers’ urgent cash flow needs. Loan fee will be waived for first time Pay Advance customers. Customers can check to see if they have been pre-approved for the facility by visiting loans.jncb.com and clicking “Check Offer”.
3. Minimum balance fees on deposit accounts will be waived for all customers who sign up for online banking. Customers may sign up for online banking on the NCB Mobile App available in the Google Play and Apple stores.

Corporate & Commercial Customers

Corporate customers are encouraged to reach out to their Relationship Manager via phone or email in relation to:

1. Additional working capital support
2. Loan moratorium on principal payment for existing loans
3. Increase in credit card limit
4. Stop payment and uncleared effects fees will be temporarily waived for all corporate and commercial clients.

Small and Medium Enterprises

1. Increased pool of single digit interest rate loan funding available to SMEs with limited collateral from $3.4 billion to $20 billion.
2. Reduced interest rate to 6.5% on these JMD facilities.
3. SMEs availing of these facilities will benefit from a moratorium on principal payments of up to six months.
4. SME customers may access up to $5 million under our Merchant Advance and Quick Biz facilities at reduced interest rates. Interested customers should call or e-mail their Relationship Manager or Branch Manager.
5. Customers may request credit card limit increases by calling or emailing their Business Banker or Branch Manager.
6. The first monthly fee will be waived for customers who sign up for mobile point-of-sale machine (mPOS).
7. SMEs interested in private equity, or in the process of going public, may benefit from a $1 billion JMD pool of capital established by NCB Capital Markets Ltd to support alternative financing needs.

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