In a comparison by Stiftung Warentest, Edeka is surprising: the consumer organization has examined almost 400 current accounts – and the major financial test shows that only 14 current accounts are still free.
An evaluation of 380 models from 152 banks and savings banks by Stiftung Warentest shows: Only 14 accounts are free of charge without any conditions. A year ago there were still 20. According to the information, ten of the free models are at banks with branches, the others at direct banks.
Stiftung Warentest defines the following as free: no basic fee, no fee for account statements, bookings, Girocard and when withdrawing money from machines in the bank’s own pool, and no conditions such as regular receipt of money and salary in a certain amount. A model customer was used as the basis for the evaluation in the current issue of the magazine “Finanztest” (9/2021). She gets a regular salary, keeps the account online and uses it on an average basis.
Another 90 accounts that, including the Girocard and all bookings, do not cost more than 60 euros a year are cheap from the point of view of the experts. “Because the bank processes bookings, provides ATMs and secure technology for online banking. However, we are finding that fewer and fewer accounts are well below 60 euros,” reported Nicodemus.
Free current account: Edekabank at the forefront
The following banks offer free checking accounts:
- 1822direct – 1822mobile (to offer)
- C24 Bank – smart account
- Edekabank – Edeka account
- KT Bank – current account
- Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus – OnlineOnly account
- PSD Nuremberg – GiroDirekt (to offer)
- Santander – BestGiro (to offer)
- Sparda Hesse – Giro
- VR Bank Niederbayern-Oberpfalz – My GiroDirekt
- PSD Hesse-Thuringia – GiroOnline (regional)
- PSD Munich – GiroDirekt (regional)
- PSD Rhine-Ruhr – GiroDirekt (regional)
- Volksbank BraWo – MyAccount (regional)
Free offers are becoming scarce: That’s why you should take a close look
According to Stiftung Warentest, the search for a free current account without conditions is becoming increasingly difficult. “It is noticeable that fees are increased, introduced or free accounts are linked to conditions, for example a monthly receipt of money,” said “Finanztest” expert Heike Nicodemus of the German Press Agency.
“In general, the credit institutions are making various adjustments so that the increases are not so noticeable,” said the expert. “Paper transfers tend to be more expensive, as are credit cards.” The problem is that the fee information on the institute’s website is often very hidden.
The Federal Court of Justice recently set limits on fee increases insofar as banks have to obtain the consent of their customers when changing general terms and conditions. The court ruled in April that the clause, according to which financial institutions can assume tacit approval if customers do not object to a change within two months, unreasonably disadvantages customers.
Credit institutions now have to ask customers afterwards for approval of the current fees. In addition, bank customers can reclaim fees charged by institutes without their explicit consent – according to an initial assessment by Stiftung Warentest, retroactively to at least January 1, 2018. However, they expect that most institutes will not be able to voluntarily pay back the account fees.
Consumer advocates have already threatened a lawsuit in this case. “If we don’t see now that the inadmissible account fees are reimbursed, then we will go to court in a second round,” said the head of the Federal Consumer Association (vzbv), Klaus Müller, recently in an interview with the German Press Agency.
Annual trend: more fees, more terms
Financial institutions have been turning the screw on fees for years. Low interest rates are putting banks under pressure. In addition, the financial institutions have to pay 0.5 percent negative interest if they park money at the European Central Bank. Even if there are now exemptions for certain sums, the industry complains about billions in costs.
More and more bank branches are also being closed in Germany due to ongoing digitization. According to the Bundesbank, the number fell by 9.6 percent to 24,100 last year. A total of 2,567 branches were closed, after 1,772 in 2019.
Stiftung Warentest, which operates a free website for comparing current accounts on behalf of the state, evaluated the conditions of current accounts valid until August 31st. All nationwide financial houses as well as direct and church banks, all Sparda and PSD banks as well as the largest savings and cooperative banks in each federal state were examined. According to the information, they cover about 70 percent of the market.