Customers at Natwest face hikes of up to £60 on annual fees linked to its packaged bank accounts from today.

The packaged accounts include a range of perks and are normally offered to wealthier customers.

Some banks and City watchdogs have signalled a desire to apply fees to all current accounts in the future in a move away from the tradition of free banking.

The cost for NatWest’s Reward Black account is going up from £31 to £36 a month - £60 a year.

Its additional features include worldwide family travel insurance, access to international airport lounges and UK and European car breakdown cover.

Reward Black account holders can also get £9 a month cashback in "Rewards" on two direct debits and £1 in "Rewards" when they log into the mobile banking app, the Mirror reports.

When you earn £5 worth of "Rewards! you can bank this into your Natwest bank account or exchange it for a gift card.

The high street bank is also hiking the monthly fee of its Reward Platinum account from £20 to £22.

The fee-paying account includes mobile insurance, UK car breakdown cover, worldwide family travel insurance and fee-free debit card purchases abroad.

There is also £4 a month back in "Rewards" for two or more direct debits, and £1 a month back in "Rewards" when you log in to its mobile app.

Natwest has confirmed that the monthly fee for its Reward Silver account will remain the same at £10 a month, as will the £2 monthly fee for the NatWest Reward account.

A NatWest spokesperson explained the changes saying: "We're making some changes to the monthly fee with some of our packaged accounts.

“The cost of providing the benefits associated with these accounts has risen considerably in recent years, and we have frozen our prices for the last five years."