Many banks are introducing account fees.
Commerzbank, Sparkasse and Co .: An overview of where the free current account is still available.
Kassel - A free current account is now almost an impossibility.
Most banks such as Sparkasse, Commerzbank but also the online bank Ing Diba have now introduced a fee for the use of a simple account.
Most credit institutions only offer the free use of a current account under certain conditions, such as training or incoming payments of a certain amount.
There are also banks that no longer allow exceptions.
However, some credit institutions still offer checking accounts without a monthly fee.
What consumers should know by now.
Sparkasse, Commerzbank, Volksbank and Co .: current account fees are illegal in some cases
For many banks, the introduction of account fees did not go as smoothly as some credit institutions might have wished.
The banks often informed their customers by post or email of the introduction or increase of the current account fees. * Consumers could neither agree to nor reject this change.
But this practice is illegal, ruled the Federal Court of Justice.
In the future, banks will need a so-called amendment contract for such a procedure.
Customers then have to explicitly agree to this.
To read on: All foundation product test news * can be found on our topic page.
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Current account at Santander, Sparda, Volksbank and Co .: Where it is still free
But there are also free checking accounts where consumers do not have to deal with such fees.
Stiftung Warentest * took a closer look at 380 account models from a total of 152 banks and savings banks.
The tester's model customer was over 18 years old and only used his account online.
The result: There are a total of 14 accounts that are still free of charge, including a giro card and online booking.
These include direct banks without a branch network such as 1822direkt, C24 Bank and the DKB. At the DKB, however, the current account is only free of charge for the first six months without any conditions. As the name of the account, "Cash for Active Customers", suggests, a monthly payment is due afterwards. This must be at least 700 euros. The private banks KT Bank and Santander also offer a current account without fees.
The Stiftung Warentest also included cooperative banks in their test.
Here, however, the restriction applies that some are only regional and not nationwide offers.
PSD Hessen-Thuringia, PSD Munich, PSD Rhein-Ruhr, Volksbank Braunschweig Wolfsburg - BraWo and Volksbank Dreieich only have a regional offer.
The Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus, PSD Nürnberg, Sparda Hessen and the VR Bank Niederbayern-Oberpfalz offer nationwide offers and a free current account.
These banks offer a free current account:
Credit institution | Name of the free account |
---|---|
1822 directly | 1822Mobile |
C24 bank | Smart account |
DKB | Cash / Cash for active customers |
KT Bank | Checking account |
My bank - Raiffeisenbank in the Hochtaunus | OnlineOnly account |
PSD Hessen-Thuringia | GiroOnline (regional) |
PSD Munich | GiroDirekt (regional) |
PSD Nuremberg | GiroDirect |
PSD Rhine-Ruhr | GiroDirekt (regional) |
Santander | BestGiro |
Sparda Hessen | giro |
Volksbank Braunschweig Wolfsburg - BraWo | My account (regional) |
Volksbank Dreieich | easyGiro online (regional) |
VR Bank Niederbayern-Oberpfalz | My GiroDirekt |
Source: Stiftung Warentest |
Free checking account: This is how the account switch works without any problems
However, no account management fees should be the only factor for customers when choosing a current account.
The Lower Saxony consumer center has summarized several aspects that should be considered.
This includes whether online banking is an important factor for you and whether you feel comfortable in exclusive online banking without a branch network.
You should also consider whether a large network of ATMs is important to you and whether you need a credit card in addition to a giro card.
There are also more and more banks that focus on sustainability and have a more ecological focus.
That, too, can be a factor that you can include in your selection.
(slo)
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