New EU rules bring more transparency on bank fees for consumers

Starting with 1st of November 2018, banks and financial services providers across the EU will have to better inform their customers about the fees associated with opening and maintaining bank accounts thanks to new EU rules.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: “Bank accounts are an essential part of everyday life, allowing us to make and receive payments, shop online, and pay our bills. Since 2016, thanks to the Payment Accounts Directive, consumers have the right to open a basic bank account anywhere in the EU, as well as switching to a new provider. With tomorrow's new rules, we will increase transparency of fees for all consumers. This will make it easier to shop around for the best and cheapest offers from banks”.

Commissioner Věra Jourová added: “Recent figures show that consumer trust in banking services is low due to a lack of transparency. These new rules will make sure that banks' offers are more transparent and clearer on fees. This is good news for consumers: it will not only make it easier for them to get an overview of the fees, but they will also be able to compare different offers”.

The ‘Fee Information Document' (FID) is a standardized document with a short summary presenting the fees related to most common services, such as money transfers, that a bank will provide customers with when they open a bank account.

In addition, EU consumers will also be receiving - at least annually and free of charge - a ‘Statement of Fees', an information document following the same standardized format. In this document, banks have to detail all expenses incurred by their customers as well as information regarding the interest rates for services linked to a bank account.

Payment Accounts Directive requires all banks in the EU to present this document as of 31 October 2018, except France and Italy, which already have similar information requirements in place and will implement these changes by the end of July 2019.

Source:European Commission