A staggered tariff is a kind of fee schedule which is used to determine the fees you pay for a product. Staggered tariffs are used for various goods and services, including banking services.
Important: When used in relation to taxes and some other uses, the meaning of the term staggered tariff may deviate from the explanation given here.
In a staggered tariff, you have multiple tiers representing different amounts. Different fee rates apply depending on which tier is reached. The rate only applies to the amount which falls within the tier, and not to the entire amount. In most staggered tariff fee schedules, the higher the tier is, the lower the rate is.
Example:
A bank charges a custody fee of 0.3 percent per year for the portion of your assets which falls below 50,000 francs. A lower custody fee of 0.2 percent applies to the part of your securities which falls between 50,000 and 100,000 francs. An even lower fee of 0.1 percent is charged on the portion of your wealth which exceeds 100,000 francs.
0-50,000 francs: 0.3 percent custody fee per year
50,000-100,000 francs: 0.2 percent custody fee per year
Amount in excess of 100,000 francs: 0.1 percent custody fee per year
So, in this example, a customer with 50,000 francs of securities would pay a fee equal to 0.3 percent per annum, or 150 francs (CHF 50,000 * 0.3%). A customer with 100,000 francs of securities would pay 250 francs per year (150 francs plus CHF 50,000 * 0.2%). A customer with 110,000 francs of securities would pay 260 francs (250 francs plus CHF 10,000 * 0.1%).
Swiss stock brokers sometimes use staggered tariffs to calculate custody fees, brokerage fees, and other investment fees.
Staggered tariff vs. stepped tariff
A stepped tariff is another type of fee schedule which also uses different rates for different tiers. The difference is that, in a stepped tariff, a rate applies to the entire amount, and not just the portion which falls within a tier. A staggered tariff often results in the customer paying higher fees, compared to fees schedules based on stepped tariffs.
More on this topic:
Stepped tariffs explained
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