As part of our Bank Trophies dedicated to professional rates, we have dissected the brochures of more than a hundred banks. And it hasn’t really been fun… Lack of transparency, multiplicity of services, high prices: the pros pay a high price and are not well equipped to compare offers.
If comparing bank rates can already prove tedious for individuals, between the à la carte services, the service group offers and the numerous pages of brochures, the task is even more difficult for professionals. In fact, the latter are not concerned by the various regulations aimed at greater transparency on the subject (standard extract of tariffs and tariff information document, for example). The result is brochures with non-standardized lines, with titles that differ depending on the establishment and extended services.
It is with the aim of facilitating this comparison work that we are publishing for the 2nd consecutive year our “Professional Rates Bank Trophies”. Last year, we analyzed the price brochures of 20 banks (6 national and 14 online banks/fintechs). This year, we took the exercise further by adding all the regional banks of Crdit Agricole, Crdit Mutuel, Caisse d’Epargne and Banques Populaires. Our study focuses on 6 professional profiles, with different needs (see the methodology and results of the Bank Trophies). A tedious job (we often spent 10 times more time on the professional brochure of a bank than on the personal brochure that we usually deal with) from which several observations emerge concerning the rates applicable to professional customers.
A lack of transparency
First lesson: prices for professionals suffer from a big lack of transparency within traditional banks, on key lines in the context of a comparison. Thus, it is not possible to know precisely the amount of account maintenance fees at BNP Paribas (which gives a range from 57.50 to 210 euros per quarter), or at Crdit Agricole Ile de France (“from 67 to 105 euros per quarter”). Furthermore, no indication is given as to what causes these management fees to vary. LCL, which also indicates a price range, specifies however that the price depends on the complexity of the account settlement. At the CIC, only a minimum of 34 euros per month is mentioned. In the case of à la carte pricing, knowing these management fees is nevertheless essential, in the same way as the bank card fee for example.
But if a rough estimate is always possible with ranges or minimums, banks are even more silent about their service group offers, their collection solutions and their financing solutions. Yet these are important elements in the life of a company. Opposite these lines, we often find the words contact your business manager, for a quote or for a personalized study. Pricing at the head of the client, which will then depend on their turnover, the type of business, and certainly on the negotiation. Practices which, in fact, make comparison difficult for the professional who would like to change establishment.
Changing banks: a headache for professionals?
For example, the CIC or certain Crdit Mutuel give a price starting from for their packages, without specifying the method of calculation or the criteria taken into account. Crdit Agricole Alpes Provence indicates a range with a minimum and a maximum… Some brands still decide to play the game of transparency when it comes to their group service offers, like Socit Generale, HSBC, or even La Banque Postale, whose price and content of the packages are well detailed in their brochures.
Few good students also among physical banks regarding their collection solutions, and more particularly the provision of a payment terminal to receive payments by card. Often, establishments indicate that they offer solutions adapted to their customers, but without giving a price. We are systematically invited to contact an advisor. Conversely, online banks, when they offer a TPE, communicate its purchase price and the commission applies to the transactions. Hello bank pro customers can therefore purchase a device for 39 euros excluding taxes, and are charged 1.60% for each payment. At Shine, thanks to an agreement with SumUp, the TPE costs 29 euros excluding tax and the commission is 1.49%.
A multiplicity of tariff lines
It is clear that professionals are often charged more for services than individuals, without this sometimes being explained. Let us cite for example the commission for updating the customer file, the name of which varies according to each establishment. LBP administrative and legal file monitoring costs, updating of the administrative and legal file at CIC, commission for opening and updating the administrative file at SG: this line would be used to cover the costs that the bank incurs to update the administrative file of ‘one customer every year. Invoice 60 euros at La Banque Postale, 90 euros at BNP Paribas, 150 to 250 euros at SG, 300 euros at Crdit Agricole Corse or up to 500 euros for large companies at Banque Populaire Val de France, this commission can weigh heavily on an entrepreneur’s budget , without, in addition, being justified if the client’s situation only requires a small IT modification.
Overdrafts are particularly affected by this phenomenon of overcharging in traditional banks. Let us first remember that a professional pays a transaction commission on his debit transactions, regardless of whether his balance is negative or not. Like individuals, if it is discovered (authorized or not), he will pay debit interest, a rate which is never communicated by physical banks. But they don’t stop there, and all charge a commission on the highest overdraft, around 0.08% per month. Others sometimes add other fees: HSBC also charges an immobilization commission (2.50% minimum), an overage commission (0.70% minimum), and imposes a fixed minimum usage fee (5 euros per month or 10 euros per quarter). La Banque Postale charges a non-use commission, without disclosing its amount. LCL also applies a confirmation or commitment fee. Lines often without explanation on the brochures, for which it is difficult to understand the work they are supposed to pay for. From then on, for an overdraft, a professional can be billed, in addition to his interest, up to four different commissions. This is without taking into account any annual overdraft renewal fees, for example recorded at LCL.
Online pro account: what offers? Our comparison
High prices and not always justified
Despite the opacity and lack of readability of certain brochures, a reality emerges: at traditional banks, prices are generally much more expensive than for individuals, and this for the same services. For example, when account maintenance fees do not cost more than 35 euros per year for an individual, the bill rises for a professional: 184 euros per year at La Banque Postale, 228 at Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, 312 at SG ( minimum) or the Caisse d’Epargne Languedoc-Roussillon, at least 408 euros per year at CIC, between 260 and 856 at LCL… A dirty addition for an individual entrepreneur or a small business with a low turnover. In addition, other fees related to account management are added, such as the transaction commission, a percentage taken from debit transactions, regardless of the account balance! For each payment of charges (rent, salary, insurance, invoice, etc.), a commission varying from 0.05% to 0.30% per month is charged, depending on our panel of physical banks. Some even apply a minimum package, per month or per quarter! For example, 5 euros per month at La Banque Postale, 20 euros per quarter at Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France, 13 euros per month at BRED Banque Populaire or 15 euros per month at LCL.
Professional customers also pay for the subscription to remote banking services, that is to say online or application access to manage their account, which is not the case for individuals. For routine management (transfers, ordering checkbooks, statements, publishing RIB, etc.), you must pay 5.90 euros per month LBP or 17.10 euros at Crdit Agricole Center France or 18 euros at Banque Chalus. BNP Paribas and HSBC vary the monthly rate according to turnover: respectively 13.90 and 13 euros below 750,000 euros per year, and 24 euros and 26 euros above that. Note that HSBC offers this service to individual entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the bill can still increase depending on the options chosen by the professional: if he wishes to be able to carry out stock market orders at LCL for example, he will have to pay an additional 2 euros per month.
Online banks and specialized fintechs in professional accounts are better bidders than their competitors on these points. In fact, they market packages with a fixed monthly rate which includes remote account management, account maintenance fees, at least one payment card, and current operations. The vast majority do not charge a movement commission.. On the other hand, they often do not provide access to all the services of a traditional bank (deposit of checks and/or cash, overdraft, etc.), and if they do, the prices can be prohibitive. For example, Qonto charges 2 euros for cashing a check (depending on the offer chosen, up to 15 free deposits are included each month). manager.one deducts 20 euros from the sixth check cashed during the year; Monabanq 1.50 euros from the 19th per quarter. You must therefore carefully identify your needs before opting for a professional account in an online bank, which can be expensive for a company that deposits a lot of checks and cash. Also note that most do not allow you to have an overdraft.