Deposit fees exceed deposit amount!

My club runs a short story competition with modest entry fees. In the past, some entrants would pay by cheque, and the cheque deposit fee exceeded the deposit amount. This was unfortunate, but we realise banks were trying to discourage unsafe cheque usage. Well, the same thing has now happened with CASH deposits (at a branch). The entrant paid R40, which cost US R40.35 in fees! This is unforgivable. The bank should inform the depositor that the only entity that would benefit from his deposit is the bank itself. How can ANY business accept a deposit, knowing that the fees exceed the deposit amount? It would have been cheaper for us to give him a free entry. This is yet another example for how banks de***** clients.