In the past year, almost everything in Germany has crawled up in price - and fees for banking are no exception. Many people in Germany are now paying between 50 and 100 euros each year to run their accounts.
According to a new representative survey conducted by consumer comparison portal Verivox, one-third of Girokonto bank account fees in Germany have recently risen.
33 percent of survey respondents reported that they were paying more to keep their bank accounts running. For 26 percent of respondents, the last time their banking fees increased was between one and two years ago.
The Verivox survey also collected information on how much people were paying each year to keep their accounts ticking over. 29 percent of people in Germany reported paying less than 50 euros each year for their account. 27 percent pay between 50 and 100 euros and 20 percent fork out even more. 17 percent of people who have an account in the federal republic don’t pay a single cent for their accounts.
Many banks in Germany don’t charge fees for accounts which have regular salary or pension payments put into them. But if fees do become an unnecessary burden, and account holders want to open a bank account with a different bank, both financial institutions are obliged to make the process as easy as possible so that standing orders and direct debits can be transferred to the new account without problems.
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