In a letter to the management of the MCB Bank – Bonaire the Saba Business Association has expressed the grave concerns the Saba community has regarding the transition from WIB St. Maarten accounts to MCB Bonaire accounts These include:

The cost of banking with MCB Bonaire is extreme. For every local transaction, an amount of $1.- + 6% ABB is charged. Why do we get charged for local transfers and why are we charged 6% ABB as the ABB service tax on Saba is 4%, not 6%.  The MCB schedule of charges clearly indicates that online transactions are free of charge.

Transfers from Saba MCB Bonaire accounts to RBC Bonaire and RBC Curacao are seen as local transfers while transfers to RBC Saba are still considered international transfers and you are charging international transfer fees for that. RBC Saba has waived international transfer fees to the MCB bank.  It is unclear why the rate schedule for MCB Bonaire, to which Saba now belongs, is seemingly not applicable.  See https://www.mcbbonaire.com/customer-service/rates- fees/transfers-standing-orders

Multiple businesses and citizens have had no access to their bank accounts. MCB still fails to indicate when this will be possible again.

Businesses were not duly informed that any activities before November 1st  would not be accessible on either the WIB account or the MCB account. Neither were they informed of the fact that all standing orders & templates are no longer accessible with the new MCB Bonaire account.

Credit card transactions cannot be viewed online by businesses and, in spite of the phone calls made to MCB, it seems that they still have not figured out how to add this to the online portal so that the owners of the accounts, have access to their accounts again.

MCB/WIB Bank customers have waited in vain for hours in line for the Government Building in The Bottom to receive their ATM and/or credit cards! Many are still waiting to receive their cards and pin numbers.

Some customers have not been able to apply for personal online banking for existing accounts, as your system rejects the requests. Those customers still have no access whatsoever to their personal accounts.

Many customers did not receive an invitation regarding the sessions that were held on the island to replace credit and ATM cards and were not aware that such sessions took place. Because of this, many phone calls were made on November 1st to MCB Bonaire to ask for assistance, a task that could have been completed on the island if someone would be present, representing WIB/MCB.

Read the letter from the Saba Business Association to MCB Management HERE.

So far. the frustration felt by many of the WIB/MCB customers on Saba has not initiated a response from MCB Management. The Sabans can only guess what MCB Management means when they address them as “valued customers”.

The Saba Business Association