When everything increases, the savings are to be found on fixed costs that are believed to be incompressible. Bank charges are included.
It’s a reflex: when you think you’re paying too many bank charges, you first think of changing banks. Why not ? You can certainly find cheaper, especially with online banks, and changing establishments is now facilitated by the 2017 law on banking mobility.
But this extreme solution is not suitable for everyone. Some want to stay with their bank: because they have their loans there, it is close to their home and they want to be able to go to the counter, or because they have a good relationship with their adviser, whose they don’t want to happen. So, how to lower the cost of your bank without changing institutions?
1. Refuse payment means insurance
Systematically offered when opening a bank account, payment means insurance covers you against fraudulent use of your card or checkbook. If such assurance could be used in the past, a 2009 law makes it almost useless today. It obliges banks to reimburse their customers in full in the event of fraud linked to means of payment, even if they have not taken out this insurance. Potential savings per year: around €35, or around €3/month.
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2. Track unnecessary costs
Remember to withdraw your cash from your bank’s ATMs. In fact, according to a recent study (2022) by the comparator Panorabanques, nearly one in three French people do not pay attention to the bank in which they withdraw cash. However, beyond a certain number of withdrawals made in a competing establishment, these operations may be chargeable. For example, beyond two withdrawals per month in an ATM other than those in its network, Crédit Agricole Nord Est, for example, charges €0.50 per withdrawal to holders of classic Visa and Mastercard cards.
Go and collect a checkbook from your agency, which will save you money. 74% of French people who have checkbooks have them sent home by post… However, the operation is often chargeable: around €2, on average, for a single shipment. It is more expensive if you wish to send it by registered mail: 7 € on average.
Finally, you may have subscribed to certain paid services without being aware of it, such as the SMS alert service, for example. Take a close look at your account maintenance bill and eliminate the services you don’t use.
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3. Do not necessarily subscribe to the package
One out of two customers has a “package”, a set of banking services offered at an advantageous price. This costs less than buying the services individually, but… do you really need the whole package?
Even though banks are now limiting their entry-level package to basic products and services, it may still be overkill in your case. “List the services you use, advises Basile Duval, of Panorabanques, add up their cost and compare the total to the bundle price. And, if necessary, do not hesitate to refuse or cancel it. »
4. Lower the level of range of your bank card
Have you chosen a top-of-the-range card, such as the Visa Premier or a Gold Mastercard? This generally costs between two and three times more than a standard international card. Ask yourself, each year, if you really need it. This type of card offers “plus” services and choosing one can be useful in some cases, but not necessarily keeping it for the long term.
Keeping a top-of-the-range card simply for its higher payment and withdrawal limits is not necessarily wise: modulating its limits via the Internet is now possible, even with a standard card.
Another question to ask yourself: wouldn’t it be to your advantage to choose an immediate debit or systematic authorization card (no more agios to pay, etc.) rather than a deferred debit card? Some people are not comfortable with this type of debit, unable to understand the amount they really have left on the account, given the amount pending debit.
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5. Renegotiate your credit and insurance rates
Bringing competition into play in these two areas is profitable. Do not hesitate to renegotiate the rates in your own bank, or to redeem these products in another establishment. “A lot of purchasing power is to be recovered in particular in the field of borrower insurance, says Olivier Lendrevie, president of Cafpi, a mortgage brokerage company. Since June 1, the Lemoine law (which removes the medical questionnaire for certain loans) allows the termination of borrower insurance at any time. »
Take a second bank, without leaving your establishment for good. Nothing prevents you from opening an account in a competing bank, whose fees are lower. For example, online banks can be advantageous for managing your current account, while your usual bank will keep your investments and loans. Do not hesitate to compare prices, among other things using dedicated sites.
“The winning formula is often to combine traditional banking and online banking, observes Stéphanie Thomas, director of the Comparateurbanque.com site, to benefit from the advantages offered by the two establishments. Our study shows that Boursorama Banque, Fortuneo Banque and Monabanq are the least expensive and the most generous in terms of premiums and payment solutions. For example, Visa Premier or Gold Mastercard cards, as well as the travel assistance insurance that goes with it, are free. »
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If you are allergic to online banks (but how many times do you visit your establishment each year?), you can also find a second, less expensive traditional bank, located near you or in another region. Comparisons sometimes show big differences from one region to another!
Not always easy, of course, to open an account in a city with which you have no connection (presence of your parents, for example, or usual place of vacation), but it is tempting. “Since the Pacte law of 2019, banks can no longer require the domiciliation of wages when they grant credit, reports a credit broker. But, in this case, they often increase the rate. » Nothing prevents you, under these conditions, from having your salary transferred to the lending bank… even if it means playing the competition later.
