Banking Fees Around the World?

[gb2000ie]

My bank introduced new bank charges three months ago, and I just got my quarterly breakdown. I'm simply horrified by how much these new fees are.

I'm trying to figure out how angry I should be, so I'm curious what people pay in other countries.

To give you an idea, if I multiply all these charges out it will cost me about €100 per year per account. Myself and my partner each have our own accounts, we have a joint account, and I have a business account, so in total, we are looking at an additional annual cost in our lives of €400!

The things that make my blood boil are not the charges for in-branch transactions. It seems normal to pay 30c to have your cheque cached or to take up a person's time for something you could do on line just as easily. No, the things that make my blood boil are a standing €4.50 charge for "account maintenance", and a charge of 20c for every ONLINE transaction. Basically, nothing is free anymore, not even digitally transferring money from one account to another one in the same bank and branch.

So - are Irish banks uniquely extortionate? Or is this the new normal around the globe?

B.

 

[bigsal]

In Italy account holders who use the bank counter, have substantial annual expenditure (more than 100 euro), in practice pay every thing and every transaction.

I have an account with an online bank (Fineco Bank), and all transactions are free (refills, transfers (including international), bancomat, credit card ...).

Cheques are free, but you pay the shipping costs of the block (but I do not use).

No fees account.

In practice, I spend only 35 euro each year (government tax).

Not all online banks engaged in the same conditions.

 

[AleXXX UK]

UK banks are free.....except we bailed them out to the tune of hundreds of billions and now our taxes have gone up, public sector jobs have been slashed, student fees have tripled and our children and unborn grand children will be servicing the debt interest for generations to come.

Yeah but the banks are free

 

[gb2000ie]

UK banks are free.....except we bailed them out to the tune of hundreds of billions and now our taxes have gone up, public sector jobs have been slashed, student fees have tripled and our children and unborn grand children will be servicing the debt interest for generations to come.

Yeah but the banks are free

I didn't mention it, but we did all that too. We didn't just bail them out, we, the state, own almost 90% of my bank, and 100% of a number of other banks. We're also laying off civil servants, and cutting healthcare spending beyond the minimum for the system to work, and removing care for the disabled and the weakest in society. Unlike the UK, we have the IMF in running the show, so our government can't even do a U-turn on this austerity bullshit

Oh - also, I'm not including the government tax of €20 per year per debit/credit/ATM card - the banks are not charging that, the government is.

B.

 

[loretta]

i do not pay a cent per year, i use an online bank here in germay which is totally free, no fees at all, including the credit card

 

[Whisper]

I have to pay about 100 €/year for my cards and account maintenance, etc. Although it varies, not all the banks in Finland has the same costs.

 

[yoyo888]

Well here in the UK the majority are free. I know banks are trying to encourage customers to pay a monthly free, but with that you do get some extra services.

It would ont surprise me that with in a few years the majprity of banks start to charge their customers.

There is one new starter bank called Metro Bank I think it is called, which they advertise them selves as a alternative bank, for the better. So maybe I will change in the future to get the best deal

When I had a business bank account yer they changed me a monthly fee and a per transaction free as well which all mounted up

 

[Sinnerr]

It's individual. Depends on which kind of account you have and which bank. I have account in GE Money and I pay 200 CZK (about 8 EUR) per month. It most basic account what they provide and it fits me perfectly. It includes 2 mastercards possible to use in foregin countries, using their cash dispensers without a limit, internet banking...
Generally banking fees in Czech Republic are higher than in other countries due to local people's sillyness. Two biggest and oldest Komerční Banka (CZ division of Societe Generale) and Česká spořitelna (CZ division of Sparkasse) has higher than smaller and newer ones. Their clients are constantly bitching about it, but are too lazy to change bank, so they pay singullary fee for providing account, for internet banking and for many other bullshits. Another reason is that they has biggest nets of cash dispensers (Especially ČS has it on every corner and in every village).

 

[parkward]

i do not pay a cent per year, i use an online bank here in germay which is totally free, no fees at all, including the credit card

what bank is it?

 

[Urban]

I think I'm the first to check in from the US. Here there's a lot of variation in fees, and the situation is changing all the time. There seems to be some discrepancy between larger & smaller banks.

First, there are no government fees in the US. To my knowledge, banks do not charge fees on savings accounts, only on checking accounts. We do have to buy paper checks. Many banks, including mine, don't charge a monthly fee if you have a regular check (pay check, pension, etc) directly deposited into your account. Some banks (the larger ones, I think) charge a fee to use a live teller, but mine doesn't. Some banks charge a fee to use their ATM if you don't have an account with them. My bank and a bunch of other smaller banks have joined together in an agreement to allow any account holder at any bank in the network free ATM use, but you have to know which banks are in the network; some retail shops also allow free use of their ATMs.

I was in Greece and Turkey 2 years ago and used their ATMs regularly; I was surprised that I wasn't charged a fee at any of them, and I still don't know why that was so.

We also have credit unions, which are similar to banks but are more of an association of members who form the organization themselves; they're owned by their members, and they're non-profit. They don't charge any fees at all, and of course, the banks hate them and would love to see them all go away. The only problem with them is that their membership is restricted, and they are generally very limited in their geographic area, so not everyone can join them. I belong to one and have my savings there; if it gets to the point where all banks start to charge fees, I'll open my checking account there too.