On the other hand, the prices of the most common banking services have stagnated or even fallen in 2023, according to the Observatory of banking prices of the Banque de France. On the other hand, the latter points to the discreet development of new tariff lines, linked in particular to the overdraft authorization.
Mission accomplished. According to the Banking Tariff Observatory (OTB) of the Banque de France, which is publishing its annual report today, banking establishments have kept their commitment to limit the increase in their fees to a maximum of 2% in 2023, well below 4%. % inflation expected this year.
Better still, the bank rates closely monitored by the Observatory, those which are commonly charged, are all either stable or down compared to 2022. Obviously, not everyone has benefited equally. This statistical reality, in fact, owes a lot to the alignment of Crdit du Nord’s prices with those, cheaper, of Socit Generale, as part of the merger of the two networks. The promise, however, is fulfilled.
While noting it, the OTB points to another well-known trend in the evolution of bank fees: those which consist create or generalize new tariff lines. A way, perhaps, of offsetting the cost of efforts made elsewhere. The phenomenon had already been observed at the beginning of the 2010s, when the billing of account maintenance fees, previously rare, had become generalized within a few years. Result: the average price of these fees, which customers equipped with group service offers (or packages) generally pay only indirectly, increased by 180% between the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2023.
Only one bank in three is satisfied with agios
The phenomenon seems to be happening again today with additional costs for overdraft authorization. Putting your account overdraft, even with the agreement of your bank, is not free. In this scenario, debt interest, commonly called agios, are charged. However, they are inexpensive. Even if your bank sets its remuneration on the maximum authorized, i.e. the usury rate (21.75% currently up to 3000 euros), an overdraft of 200 euros for 15 days costs only 1.80 euros.
Banks content with this debt interest, however, are increasingly rare: 28 out of the 86 banks studied, i.e. about one in 3. Essentially the Caisses du Crédit Agricole and online banks, notes the OTB.
Others? They charge additional costs:
- of the application fees taken in one go when the authorization is set up (20 banks);
- of the management fees or renewal, deducted every year (33 banks), whether the overdraft authorization is used or not.
Some banks combine both. This is the case, for example, of the French’s favorite bank, Crdit Mutuel Alliance Fdrale, whose federations charge 34 euros per year for access to authorized overdraft. Note, however, that customers equipped with service group offers are generally exempt from these fees.
Should we put an end to bank overdrafts, this relic of a bygone era?
Is the fixed minimum interest rate becoming generalized?
Another tariff line tends to develop, notes the OTB: the fixed minimum agios, invoiced by 40 establishments. A practice that is perfectly legal and regulated by the Monetary and Financial Code. It consists of charging a flat rate to people who have been discovered at least once during the calendar quarter, from the first euro centwhen the average daily overdraft was less than 400 euros, sometimes less in certain banks.
Result: an overdraft of 5 euro cents can cost from 1.50 euros (La Banque Postale) 16 euros (Banque Populaire Occitane), and this every quarter. Obviously, the cost of this minimum does not enter into the calculation of the borrowing rate. If this were the case, it would be largely usurious.
A final clarification: contrary to the practice for management fees, people equipped with a group service offer are, this time, not exempt.
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