Monday, 1st February 2021 — For the first week of this new month, I am inspired to write about monetary matters. Our financial health necessitates keeping accurate records of bank transactions, bills, credit card statements, payments and receipts.
Even when our resources are limited or non-existent, we need to monitor our spending, prepare budgets and ensure we are not overspending. It is wise to keep account of our monthly expenditures – in addition to reconciling our bank statements for chequing, savings and credit accounts along with loans and other expenses.
Some people may ask why is this necessary if I am not a businessowner, an accountant, nor a manager or executive in a company or government department. It is recommended that we keep track of every cent we spend, so we know not only where our hard-earned dollars are being spent, but, by doing so, we also ensure accuracy and will notice infrequent discrepancies or errors.
Call me meticulous, but each month I hold onto all of my receipts, bank deposit/withdrawal slips, billing statements, etc. I note when a bill has been paid with date, time, method of payment and confirmation number if one is given. Every month, I go through these and compare them to the bank’s statements for my debit and credit transactions. This way I can confirm the accuracy of each item and ascertain whether I was incorrectly charged for anything.
I have also learnt to double check my receipts when shopping at grocery stores. Once in a rare while, an item purchased is inaccurately priced because the cashier inadvertently put in the wrong code. That has happened on occasion in the past although not recently. Likewise, I ask for a discount when paying by cash at businesses which offer this savings to customers.
In this day and age when most of us are counting the money we have, if we are fortunate to have any, it is wise to be aware of how we spend our dollars. We are already losing some small amounts in cash transactions because there are no longer one and two cent coins in Eastern Caribbean currency. At times, that works in our favour when the business gives us a few extra cents back in change. Yet there are occasions when we end up paying more.
To encourage all of us to monitor our accounts and finances carefully, I share my recent experiences dealing with one of our local banks, the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla Ltd (NCBA). I bring these matters to the public’s attention in case anyone else has experienced similar issues.
Last month when I went online to review my chequing account statement with an overseas bank, I noted two significant errors. Both of these discrepancies were with transactions initiated through NCBA’s Automatic Transaction Machine (ATM) at the Main Branch in The Valley.
The first transaction involved my not receiving any cash when I attempted to withdraw US dollars from my foreign based account. Nonetheless, the transaction showed up as a debit in my chequing account. The second transaction was for one in which I obtained cash. However, my account was overcharged for the customary ATM fee of US$2.50. The receipt for this withdrawal instead showed a debit of US$6.75 for the fee.
Had I not bothered to reconcile my chequing account statement and reviewed each transaction, I easily could have missed these inaccuracies. Fortunately, I noticed and contacted both banks to investigate the matter. With the kind assistance of NCBA’s management and staff, as well as the bank’s representatives in the USA, both of these erroneous transactions have been reversed and my bank account has been properly credited with the funds re-deposited.
In my communications with the Chief Executive Officer, Ms Sharmaine François, she apprised me that NCBA is upgrading its banking system. Ms Marisa Gumbs, Manager of Projects and Card Services, also informed me that these errors stemmed from technical glitches with NCBA’s operating system. Hopefully, NCBA has fixed its system’s technical issues and none will happen again. Having a locally-based bank is in our community’s best interests.
Everyone knows there can be problems with computerised equipment and technology, and mistakes are even sometimes made by human hands. In either case, we have to be patient in resolving these slipups. May all a’ we be more financially accountable.
_____________
Kay M Ferguson is a conscious writer, who writes under the nom de plume Empress Extraordinaire, composing words to enlighten and uplift humanity. Connect with her on social media — Facebook and LinkedIn or email anguillawriter@gmail.com.
