Bank Commission

The bank commissions are the amounts of money, fixed or percentage, that the bank or financial entity charges the client for the provision of different services: carrying out transactions, issuing documents, contracts, balances negative as well as maintenance, among others.

According to the Bank of Spain, bank commissions are the amounts that credit institutions charge you in compensation for their services (for example, sending a transfer, exchanging currencies, managing an account, studying a loan, giving you a credit card, etc.). The entities may also pass on the justified expenses that they have to pay to third parties in order to provide you with said services. The commissions can be charged together, as a single generic charge (in the case of flat rates) or separately, that is, an individualized charge for each service provided.'

Online banking or digital banking usually eliminates or lowers some of the traditional bank commissions.

Types of bank commissions

There are different concepts for which banks usually charge commissions. Some of the concepts for which they can charge a commission are:

Commissions for contracting a mortgage

The commissions that are usually paid for contracting a mortgage are:

• Not to pay the mortgage credit deadlines on time
• To amortize part or all the mortgage, that is, liquidate part or all the outstanding debt with the bank, before the agreed.
• To cancel the mortgage.
• To open the mortgage.
• To change it to another bank. Subrogation
• To change or negotiate change in the interest rate -(variable interest to fixed interest or vice versa)

Bank fees for withdrawing and transferring money

• Remove money from the ATM with the credit card, with the debit card, no. If the card is debit and credit at the same time, you can choose to discount at the time the account money or charge it to credit, in the latter case a commission is charged.
• Remove money with the debit card in an ATM that does not belong to the ATM network of the issuing entity of the card.
• In the case of some entities, for making money in an ATM from another entity, even if it is from the same ATM network.
• For transferring money to another bank or entity.
• For receiving a transfer of more than 6000€. You can divide the transfer into several smaller ones and perform them in a short period of time to avoid this commission. In fact, some bank uses this method, other banks have complained, but it's really a completely legal practice.
• Cobrar for receiving transfers under 6000€ was illegal. Since 17 October 2006, banks can charge for a transfer]

Commissions for lack of balance or red numbers

• By entering red numbers, they can charge a fixed amount regardless of the duration and amount of the debt.
• Also a percentage of debt independent of the time of this.
• In addition to a very high interest.

Bank commissions for various payments and notes

• Pay by card, the bank charges the merchant a percentage of the purchase. From 0.57% to 5.77%.
  On the contrary some banks reward the use of the card with a refund of a percentage of the purchase payment. Some online banks even return 1%.
• For each note (book of a receipt). Although the general rule is not to charge this concept. In fact, even these domicilations are encouraged with points or improvements in interest.

Maintenance fee

• It is customary to charge a maintenance commission, when there is little balance.
• When an account is not used for a long time, about 3 years, they can charge a regular amount. It should also be borne in mind that after an account has been unused for 20 years the bank can stay with the money it contains.

Other commissions

• To domicil the payroll. Although it is very normal for banks to anticipate payroll domicilation at first.

Not all banks charge all fees equally. In general, online banking must be compared which are the banks with the lowest commissions or at least with the lowest commissions in the services that are going to be used the most.

Criticism of bank commissions

Normally, the imposition of bank commissions is the responsibility of the financial institution, so the client, in most cases, cannot negotiate and if he does not wish to pay said commissions, he must look for another entity. Although, on many occasions, entities agree on commissions among themselves to avoid customer flight. These pacts or price agreements are anti-competitive and can lead to fines and sanctions for the entities.

The fundamental criticism is that in the current economy the citizen cannot do without banking services. The client cannot clearly choose the services and cannot evade the intermediation of a financial entity both for the payment of salaries or payrolls and pensions in cash. Neither can he pay many receipts or utility bills directly with the utility company (electricity, gas, etc.). In other words, there is no real alternative to such efforts, so the collection of commissions is considered a "discretionary" tax. of the entities.

Banking practices and bank fraud

Sometimes banks and financial institutions carry out bad practices and even bank fraud or fraud. On many occasions due to a lack of transparency in the information they provide to their clients and in others due to the inclusion of abusive or illegal clauses (floor clauses), marketing of high-risk products (preferred shares, financial derivatives) without sufficient information to non-customers. appropriate, imposition of extraordinary non-legal costs -insurance, commissions-.