Just like Explain the portal of the Bank of Spain, Banking fees are free. “Banks may charge what they freely decide, except in cases where the amount of commissions is limited by a rule, such as in the early cancellation of a mortgage or consumer credit.”
The platform HelpMyCash explains that some of the most common bank fees They are for managing a checking account, sending you a credit card, making a transfer or exchanging currencies.
For example, the maintenance fee can be any amount that the entity stipulates, except in the “basic payment account”, whose basic amount is limited to 3 euros per month, contemplated in Order ECE/228/2019, of 28 February, and free for certain groups.
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If the bank increases the maintenance fee, it must inform you two months in advance. On the other hand, most allow you to reduce it to zero if you meet their linking requirements such as direct debit of payroll or contracting insurance.
In addition, there are commissions that the bank may charge you even if they are not in the contract, such as withdrawing money at the counter or withdrawing money at another bank’s ATM. They can also charge you the so-called inactivity fees; for rejecting receipts, for duplicating paper statements, for issuing certificates, or for paying abroad.
Immediate transfers also usually have a commission —usually between 4 and 6 euros—, while transfers to other national or international entities within the SEPA area do not usually cost anything, as long as they are less than 50,000 euros. And banks also usually charge you for having an overdraft in the account, normally around 30 euros.
Yes indeed, The bank must always notify you of the amount and the cause before charging you the commission.
For a charge to be considered legal, the prices must be published in the bank’s rate book and be accessible both in the office and on the website. Changes must be notified two months in advance and you cannot be charged twice for the same service.
Commissions at the window for people over 65 years of age and people with disabilities
Since last Friday, December 29, 2023, Banks will not be able to charge commissions for withdrawing cash at the counter from people over 65 years of age and people with disabilities. equal to or greater than 33%.
The measure, published in the BOE, was carried out by modifying article 35 of Royal Decree-Law 19/2018, of November 23, on payment services and other urgent measures in financial matters.
For these groups – cash is the main means of payment for 75% of those over 65 years of age – protection is considered urgent and necessary, both “due to physical accessibility difficulties and the digital divide.”
Payment of VAT self-assessment
In December 2022, and as collect On the FACUA website, the Government of Spain clarified that banks cannot charge “any commission or expense” in the payment of form 303 or VAT self-assessment, regardless of the payment method used or whether or not it is in-person.
The Government made this nuance as a result of the new electronic declaration format of model 303, which was introduced for the first time in 2021.
Commissions for making a transfer to another country in the SEPA zone if it does not charge you to send money to another bank in Spain
As explained by HelpMyCash, European regulations establish that SEPA international transfers in euros that do not exceed 50,000 euros They must have the same cost as national transfers.
Therefore, if your bank does not charge you to send money to another Spanish bank, it cannot charge you to send money to Portugal, France or Italy either.
Fees for maintaining the mortgage account signed before April 2012
“If you signed the mortgage before April 29, 2012, the date on which Order EHA/2899/2011 came into force, the criterion would apply whereby, when the accounts are maintained by imposition of the entity and only used to pay the mortgage loan installment, it would not be appropriate to pay any commission for its maintenance,” explains the Bank of Spain website.
Commissions for overdrafts caused by the collection of another commission
Simply explained: if you are left in the red because your bank charges a commission—for example, for maintenance—, The entity cannot also charge you an overdraft fee.
Commissions for technical or valuation overdrafts
“It is called a technical overdraft in reference to those momentary overdrafts, the only reason for which is the banking mechanics that generates differences between the accounting date and the value date,” explains the Bank of Spain.
The accounting date is the time at which funds are available in the account and the value date It is the day or moment in which the bank posts the charge. To give a simple example: if a self-employed person makes a deposit to pay an invoice, the accounting date is the date of the deposit and the value date is the day on which this operation becomes effective.
Although the bank could charge the interest stipulated in the contract, “it must be excluded from the payment of commissions,” they note from the website of Self-employed and Entrepreneurs.
2024-02-04 14:54:37
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