NatWest Bank is moving swiftly to increase the monthly fees associated with several of its packaged bank accounts. Customers will potentially have to pay an extra £60 a year.
New NatWest Fees on Packaged Accounts
Packaged Bank Accounts are premium accounts that offer additional features such as insurance cover. Although these accounts offer additional benefits, they require a monthly fee.
Starting 28 June, NatWest will increase the monthly fee for its Reward Black account from £31 to £36. The Reward Black account offers benefits such as worldwide family travel insurance, access to international airport lounges and car breakdown cover in the UK and Europe.
NatWest customers can also save £9 of 'Rewards' per month for two direct debits and £1 of 'Rewards' each month by logging into the mobile app.
Once customers have earned £5 in rewards, they can deposit this amount into their NatWest bank account or redeem it for a gift card.
Simultaneously, NatWest will increase the monthly fee on its Reward Platinum account from £20 to £22 from 28 June. Featuring mobile phone insurance, UK car breakdown cover, worldwide family travel insurance and free overseas debit card purchases.
Customers will also gain £4 rewards per month for two or more direct debits, and £1 rewards per month for using the mobile app.
However, the monthly fee for the NatWest Reward Silver account will stay at £10, and the £2 fee for the NatWest Reward account remains unchanged.
A spokesperson from NatWest stated: "We're revising the monthly charges on some of our packaged accounts. The expense of providing the associated benefits has escalated significantly over the past several years, yet our prices have been frozen for five years."
Packaged accounts may not meet all needs. For instance, not all customers may need all the extra features. Those who have been mis-sold may be entitled to compensation.
NatWest Profits Fall Sharply in Q1 2024
NatWest Group has become the most recent UK banking giant to report a sharp fall in profits for the first three months of the year. Reported pre-tax profits for the first quarter of 2024 came in at £1.3 billion, down almost 28% on the same period last year, the lender said.
However, this was ahead of analysts' forecasts of £1.2 billion, and the bank's chief executive described the results as ‘solid’ overall.
Margins in the banking sector have contracted in recent months due to increased competition on savings, loan and mortgage products. Earlier this week, Lloyds Banking Group revealed that its pre-tax profits had fallen by 28% in the first quarter. Barclays also reported a 12% fall.
On Friday, NatWest also reported its quarterly revenues were £406 million lower than the same period last year, partially due to lower deposit balances as customers shifted their savings to higher interest accounts.
Impairments, a closely watched measure of loan losses, totalled £93 million, significantly more than the £186 million forecast by analysts.