Account maintenance fees, file or transfer fees, bank card fees... Have these amounts charged by banks increased in 2022? According to a report by the Observatoire des tarifs bancaires (OTB), which studied 14 types of average fees, some are stable, while others are on the rise.
Increase in account maintenance and transfer fees
The official body linked to the Banque de France via the Comité Consultatif du Secteur Financier has delivered its verdict on the evolution of bank charges in 2022. Among the fees that have risen the most are in-branch transfers, charged at an average of 4.55 euros (+5.32%).
The French Banking Federation puts this announcement into perspective, estimating that " these operations are now very infrequent, as customers prefer digital solutions ".
To avoid high fees, savers can make occasional external transfers via the Internet, which are free of charge at virtually all establishments.
Another increase noted by OTB in its report: account maintenance fees. These fees, charged by the bank to manage the flow of money on the current account, have risen from 19.39 euros to 20.23 euros from December 31, 2021 to January 5, 2022.
The FBF points out that this increase " corresponds to a day-to-day service that is often included in the price of service packages offered by different banking establishments ".
Finally, a third, smaller increase was observed by the Observatoire des tarifs bancaires. Systematic authorization bank card fees have risen by 2%, following a 2.04% increase for 2021. Most banks charge between 16 and 48 euros for this service.
The Observatoire des Tarifs Bancaires publishes its annual report showing great stability:
- FBF (@FBFFrance) October 12, 2022
8⃣ stable rates, 1⃣ falling: subscription to remote banking services👉the banks 🇫🇷 reconcile digitalization, proximity and satisfaction.https://t.co/r2J1MQPwyo pic.twitter.com/u1G60OrnP4
Overall stable bank charges in 2022
With the exception of a few sharp increases in the cost of occasional transfers to branches and account maintenance fees, the OTB report shows that bank charges will remain stable overall in 2022. These represent an average of 0.45% of a household's budget, with trends remaining below inflation, according to the FBF.
Faced with the generalized rise in prices (5.8% year-on-year in August, according to the latest provisional estimate from INSEE), Bercy has obtained an undertaking from the banks to limit the increase in their rates to 2% by 2023, and to reduce the offer to financially fragile customers from 3 to 1 euro per month.
French banks have pledged not to increase bank charges by more than 2% in 2023. Some will go even further by freezing their main charges.
- Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) September 13, 2022
This shield on bank charges is a concrete commitment for the purchasing power of the French. @FBFFrance
It remains to be seen whether this additional gesture from the banks will be enough to preserve the purchasing power of the French.