Banks and savings banks are charging new fees for the various current account services. Customers are particularly annoyed by paying to withdraw money from their own bank’s ATMs.
(Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa)
Fees for the Girocard or for withdrawing money from the machine in your own bank: according to Heike Nicodemus, an expert at financial test, the days of free checking accounts are not coming back for the time being – on the contrary. The number of free accounts and cheap accounts has continued to fall. “There are currently no signs that banks are trying to attract new customers with free current accounts on a large scale,” says Nicodemus. “I’m more likely to expect a further decline. Many institutes have cut jobs. They probably wouldn’t be able to cope with a rush of new customers to free checking accounts.”
According to data from the comparison portal Verivox, money houses that are active nationwide in particular are again vying for the deposits of savers in view of rising interest rates. The financial institutions make good money by collecting more interest on loans than they pay savings customers for credit balances. The so-called interest surplus is traditionally an important source of income for financial institutions in Germany. However, there are no signs of a turnaround in the current account. Just nine out of 460 models examined are free for online customers without any conditions, as stated in the financial test-September issue of the Stiftung Warentest is called. These include five free accounts for branch customers. A year earlier, a total of twelve free accounts were found. Stiftung Warentest, which operates a free website for checking current accounts on behalf of the state, evaluated the conditions of salary and pension accounts valid until August 31 at 175 banks.
Cheap accounts are also becoming rarer
From the point of view of the experts, there are also fewer and fewer cheap accounts that cost no more than 60 euros a year. 74 models remained under this mark in the test, compared to 79 in the previous year. Accounts that cost more than 100 euros a year, on the other hand, are heaps, the testers reported. The average of all models examined was 117 euros. The most expensive evaluated account management costs 307.86 euros per year. In some cases, the basic price is cheap, but credit institutions reach out for the Girocard (formerly: EC card) or bookings such as direct debits or credits, transfers and standing orders. Transfers by receipt, telephone banking or cash deposits usually also have an impact. With online banks, a paper transfer can cost up to five euros. Nicodemus finds it annoying when institutions charge their customers a fee for withdrawing money from their own ATMs. “That’s a great thing.”
While years ago direct banks like ING stirred up the market with free current accounts in Germany, Nicodemus now sees the trend of retaining existing customers with new models. Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks in particular offer models in which account management becomes cheaper the more you do at the institute, for example signing a loan agreement. That could be worth it for some customers. But it is not easy to keep perspective. “The devil is in the detail.” In principle, Nicodemus thinks it’s okay if institutes charge a certain fee for the current account and this is around 60 euros a year. “If I’m being looked after competently and have a contact person, I don’t think there’s anything to complain about. A free checking account is nice, but not essential.” Stiftung Warentest defines it as free of charge without conditions: no basic fee, no fee for account statements, bookings, Girocard and when withdrawing money from machines in the bank’s own pool, as well as no conditions such as regular receipt of money and salary in a certain amount.
A model person was used as the basis for the evaluation. She gets a regular salary, keeps the account online and uses it on an average basis. All nationwide institutes as well as direct and church banks, all Sparda and PSD banks as well as the largest savings banks and cooperative banks in each federal state were examined. The consumer portal Biallo has 26 free current accounts without conditions (as of June 5th). According to the information, price and service lists and websites of almost 1,200 banks and savings banks were examined.