Home » Business » Coronavirus effect. More and more expensive in Polish banks. First, Alior Bank, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, and then the avalanche started

Coronavirus effect. More and more expensive in Polish banks. First, Alior Bank, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, and then the avalanche started

When it started operating in February 2016 Bank tax, economists threatened that its costs would be passed on to customers. These assumptions were confirmed, because since then, banks have seen a gradual reduction in interest rates on deposits, as well as cyclical changes in the tables of fees and commissions. However, it was the coronavirus pandemic that turned out to be a much more serious burden for banks.

Interest rates reduced to a record low level, including the most important one – the reference rate to 0.1 percent. (before the pandemic, it was 1.5%) significantly contributed to lower bank profits. Clients began to withdraw capital from deposits on which they were unable to earn anything. Added to this is even less interest cash loans and tightening of lending policy. As the Polish Bank Association warns, this may be a really difficult year for banks.

And precisely, among others these factors force institutions to raise fees. Savers, some long-term mortgage borrowers and bank account holders will pay for it. In a word, we will all pay for it.

See also: “Historically, Poland will be the richest in relation to GDP”. Economic growth will take off with EU money

The first banks have already raised their fees, others are announcing changes in the coming months

Credit Agricole was one of the first banks to raise fees during the pandemic. Although he informed about his changes at the beginning of the year. From April, Credit Agricole customers pay more, incl. for transfers ordered in branches and through the bank hotline. Currently, each such standard transfer costs PLN 12, and an instant transfer – PLN 17. It is also more expensive to keep foreign currency accounts and withdraws from foreign ATMs.

Alior Bank’s customers have also changed fees, but for a change they apply to corporate accounts. Since May, holders of accounts for companies have to take into account more expensive transfers made in branches. The cost of an ordinary transfer in a branch has increased by 100%. from PLN 5 to as much as PLN 10. The changes also apply to cash withdrawals from ATMs.

From July 1, the new price list applies to the clients of BNP Paribas Bank. For example, the bank changed the cost of depositing and withdrawing cash in its outlets. Each such operation currently costs PLN 10.

At the beginning of this month, banks such as mBank and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego changed the tables of fees for institutional clients, i.e. they made the same move as Alior Bank in May. The first one raised, among others commission for maintaining a current company account from PLN 70 to PLN 80 and a fee for withdrawing cash in the domestic currency at 0.5%. minimum PLN 7 (previously 0.3%, minimum PLN 5), and 0.8% in foreign currencies. min. PLN 15 (change from 0.6%, minimum PLN 15). In turn, corporate clients of mBank will pay more for an express transfer (Express Elixir or Blue Cash), for which the commission increased to PLN 10.

Bank Citi Handlowy customers have to prepare for some changes from August 20. In this case, much higher commission costs will mainly apply to cash transactions and transactions made at Citibank branches. Creating a standing order at a branch or by phone will cost PLN 7.5, not PLN 3 as before.

The conditions for maintaining the bank’s flagship account, i.e. the Citi Priority Account, are also changing. In order to avoid the fee, which is already very high and will be even higher (change from PLN 30 to PLN 40), you need not only to provide a monthly income of PLN 5,000. PLN or maintain a high balance on accounts with this bank, but also make a card transaction with a value of min. PLN 500. It cannot be forgotten that the only free credit card on the Citi Simplicity market has already disappeared from the bank’s offer. Currently, it costs PLN 12 per month, but the fee can be avoided. Please note that the TOiP for all Citibank credit cards has changed since July 15.

Another bank that will surprise its customers with higher costs of selected banking services from September 1 is Bank Pocztowy. For keeping bank accounts open so far, such as The bank will charge a fee of PLN 7.99 (currently PLN 6.50) for the Bliskie Konto Pocztowe, Pocztowe Konto Active Nestor or Pocztowe Konto Standard. Of course, the conditions for exempting you from these fees for the selected account will not change. The fee for the card will be PLN 6.99, and not PLN 5 as before. It is also worth mentioning that Bank Pocztowy has changed its offer since June and it is currently not possible to open the above accounts, but they are still kept for existing clients. The offer includes a new account, Account in Order, with three variants.

At the latest, since October 1, Getin Bank announced its changes. The bank decided to withdraw free withdrawals from ATMs of the Euronet network, and a fee for using ATMs other than Getin Bank’s own will appear at the Simple Rules Account, which will amount to 3.5%. payout value, but not less than PLN 5. If the customer does not make one transaction of any kind in a month, he will pay PLN 9 for the account (and not PLN 8 as before).

It is to be expected that this is not the end of the changes. Other banks may take similar actions in the near future.

Mostly more expensive in institutions

The analysis of increases in banks so far shows that the costs of transactions related to cash turnover are changing. It is mainly about withdrawals from foreign ATMs. Some institutions also decide to make small increases for the use of debit and credit cards, as well as fees.

However, we will pay the most for services in bank branches. It is clearly visible that banks are doing everything to discourage customers from dealing with matters in the banking counter. This is the result not only of a pandemic and attempts to limit employees’ contacts with customers, but also of the progressive digitization of the banking market. Employment in this sector has been decreasing for a long time. And this is a clear signal for customers to move to online banking. This is also evidenced by the possibility of applying for a cash loan online, which is a specific product compared to bank accounts and until recently it was difficult to complete formalities completely online.

Will borrowers pay more?

It is difficult to answer unequivocally to what extent the borrowers will feel the current situation. Some of them will benefit from low interest rates, and unfortunately some will pay extra.

When taking a cash loan, you can now count on a lower interest rate. Currently, it cannot be higher than 7.2 percent. For comparison, even before the MPC decisions it could have been up to 10%. This means that the interest rates are lower, although the banks are trying to compensate for the losses with higher commissions. Nevertheless, we have a chance to find a loan on favorable terms.

The situation is slightly different with mortgage loans. Despite raising the down payment requirements by the largest banks, borrowers counted on cheaper housing loans. Unfortunately, they may be disappointed, because while it is cheap now, as interest rates are very low, margins are relatively high. When the MPC decides to raise interest rates in the future, customers will be surprised by the high installment, and the loan margin will not change. They will simply stay with an expensive commitment for years.

Online banking as a recipe for higher fees in banks

Given the changes in bank price lists, one might be tempted to say that the end of free banking is near. But it’s not like that. It is enough to choose a good personal account that will meet our needs and use it in such a way as to avoid these fees.

Ordering standard transfers via online banking or a mobile application costs nothing and is more convenient than visiting a bank branch. There is also no need to pay for account maintenance and card use. In most banks, it is enough to provide a certain inflow and pay with a card in a given month. These are not excessive conditions, assuming that the bill is used by us every day and we receive monthly salaries and pay by card for purchases.

One thing is certain – increases in banks are inevitable so that they can maintain their business continuity, which has been so shaken by the banking tax, legal regulations, MPC decisions and the economic effects of the coronavirus.

26 min. ago

Aaa102I have to pay for the fact that the bank uses my funds for free. Papa banksters.

—–

Expand comments (1)

—-

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.