After several months of preparations, the merger of Max banka and Banka Creditas will be completed on October 1, 2024. Max banka thus legally ceases to exist and all rights and obligations arising from contractual relations are transferred to Banka Creditas. Online banking and instant payments temporarily do not work, selected branches will limit operations.
Max banka clients will have the same account numbers after October 1, only the bank code after the slash and the IBAN will change. Both the original Max bank code 4000 and the Creditas Bank code 2250 will be valid for a period of six months, after which they will be unified to 2250. This gives clients enough time to make the necessary changes.
“Max bank clients can also use all services and products in their existing mobile and internet banking without any changes. Both brands are very close in terms of deposit offer or accounts, conditions and fees – for example, free account management or free withdrawals from ATMs around the world. The advantage of Banka Creditas is a significantly wider portfolio of products, for example a number of investment options or children’s accounts,” says Ivana Pícková, CEO of Max Banka and member of the Board of Directors of Banka Creditas.
Payment cards issued by Max Bank will also continue to be valid, including additional services. After the merger, from October 1, 2024, all deposits held in Creditas Bank and Max Bank will be insured as deposits in one bank – for the equivalent of EUR 100,000 in total.
Online banking is temporarily down
However, in connection with the merger of banks, clients must expect the limitation of some services.
- Creditas Bank branches. All branches are closed from 9/30 from 11:00 a.m. to 10/1/2020 until 1:00 p.m. Then, on 10/4/2024, the operation of selected branches will be restricted.
- Internet and mobile banking and instant payments. From 9/30 from 12:00 to 10/1 to 13:00, all Creditas Bank online applications and instant payments are unavailable.
- Restrictions on the operation of the infoline. The information line of the contact center 800 888 009 will work in a limited mode.
- Online registration of new clients From 9/30 from 12:00 to 10/1 to 13:00, new client registration options online via Creditas Banking are unavailable.
Merger of Max Bank and Creditas Bank
Max banka has been active on the Czech market since 1991. It joined the network of banking houses called Expobank after the acquisition from the German LBBW in 2014. In 2022, Banka Creditas bought it and renamed it to its current name. After the acquisition, corporate clients were transferred to Banka Creditas, Max banka served only private clients.
Banka Creditas was established in 1996 as 1. Třebíčská zálazna. By the end of 2016, it was the largest domestic credit union, and on January 1, 2017, it became a bank. It is part of the Creditas investment group.
By transferring the clients of Max banka, Banka Creditas will have more than 250 thousand clients with a balance sheet amount of around 200 billion crowns.