Banks move to monthly use fees

Banks are considering replacing fees for each transaction with monthly fees that will vary according to the package the customers use.

More expensive packages will come with more benefits, but, in any case, are planned to cost no more than 10 euros per month.

Bill payments and money transfers account for the vast majority of electronic transactions currently subject to a fee.

The number of user accounts active in online banking has exploded in recent years, reaching 14 million, as several users have multiple bank accounts. Since 2020, the number of online transactions has doubled to nearly 500 million. Online transactions have not only drastically cut interactions with tellers, but have also reduced ATM transactions.

This is not an innovation. Many banks in European member-states follow this model. But, until now, Greek banks, to the annoyance of customers, clung to the model of ad hoc fees for each of several transactions.

The monthly fee packages will include ample, but limited, standing orders and money transfers.