Forum: Banks must be transparent about transaction fees

I recently made a hotel booking via the online travel agency Agoda, which cost me $155.74. I subsequently cancelled the booking for a full refund.

However, when I reviewed my DBS Bank credit card statement, I noticed that I had been charged $157.30 originally, but only refunded $154.18. It turned out that a 1 per cent cross-border transaction fee had been charged, but was not refunded.

What was more troubling was that the fee was not listed as a separate line item in the statement, making it difficult to identify.

When I called the bank, they acknowledged the issue and refunded the fee. This is where I believe the process can be improved.

The 1 per cent fee is automatically applied when the transaction is made, but is not automatically refunded. It requires the consumer to detect the discrepancy and take the initiative to call the bank.

In the spirit of transparency and fairness, I hope banks will clearly itemise such transaction fees as a separate line on statements, so consumers can distinguish such fees from merchant charges.

I also hope these fees can be automatically refunded when the original transaction is fully refunded by the merchant.

To do otherwise feels deceptive and places an unreasonable burden on consumers to monitor and challenge hidden charges. In an age of digital banking, such transparency and automation should be the minimum standard.

Julia Yeo Siang Jun