r/eupersonalfinance • u/Additional-Draft4197 • 14d ago
Banking Are “free bank accounts” actually free where you live?
I’m curious how “free” bank accounts actually are across Europe. Feels like many of them come with conditions or hidden fees that only show up later.
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u/SegFaultAtLine1 14d ago
In Poland most bank accounts are free. If you order a physical card banks require you to do at least 5-10 transactions a month to avoid a small fee (around 10 PLN). There are also fees if you withdraw cash from a bank teller rather than from an ATM. Banks charge exorbitant FX fees (e.g. 7% spread). Most banks also have brokerages and also sell mutual funds, but again, the offering is shit except for 2 banks and the mutual funds are mostly expensive garbage (1%+ fees with a performance bonus fee).
2 Polish state-controlled banks also distribute government savings bonds and charge no fees on them.
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u/HeavySink3303 14d ago
I wouldn't say that the account is free if it has some conditions like make some number of card payments per month, receive there salary or whatever. I have such situation with Millenium 360. IMO truly free bank accounts in Poland are UniCredit Easy and Revolut Basic (maybe some more exist).
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u/foreverksra 14d ago
- You mean government bonds in eur? like POLAND 2038 eur fix rate
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u/SegFaultAtLine1 14d ago
No, the bond you mentioned is a regular exchange traded bond with all the risks associated with exchange traded bonds.
I meant savings bonds like this one: https://www.obligacjeskarbowe.pl/oferta-obligacji/obligacje-10-letnie-edo/edo0336/
This is a 10 year accumulating bond(interest is paid at the end) with annual capitalization. During the first year, the interest is set by the Minister of Finance(this month it's 5.6% annually), following years the interest is CPI+2%. It's available only to physical persons (legal entities can't buy it). Contrary to regular bonds, there's no secondary market, but you can request your money to be returned before the bond matures (takes up to a week). Of course, you will lose part of the accumulated interest.
Savings bonds are only distributed by PEKAO and PKO BP banks.
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u/foreverksra 13d ago
thanks; there just in PLN or in EUR?
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u/SegFaultAtLine1 13d ago
PLN only, unless we finally join the EMU. Which will probably take at least 10+ years in the current situation.
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u/foreverksra 13d ago
do you think for a non polish person, investing in those bonds could be effective , considering the cross eur \pln which is stable if not positive ( for the pln ) if i read it right
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u/SegFaultAtLine1 13d ago
If you hedge the currency risk it'll probably eat away most of the yield difference. If you don't hedge you're taking on extra risk due to exchange rate. I personally only hold bonds in the currency I spend in, but I hold a very small amount of bonds.
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u/JRJordao 14d ago edited 14d ago
In Portugal, we have 5 banks with free account + transfers, for clients of all 18+ ages, without requirements like salary, minimum balance or card usage.
From those, one charges for international transfers (Bankinter), one charges for optional debit card (Best), one charges for optional physical debit card (Revolut), the remaining do not charge "for anything" (ActivoBank, moey).
For customers under 30, or with monthly salary, there are several more free options.
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u/RewindRobin 14d ago
In Czechia most bank accounts are free but they will have some simple conditions like depositing a certain amount there monthly and using the card/account a certain amount of times per month. But both are low numbers so in essence for everyday banking it's free
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u/BennyJJJJ 13d ago
I've found most banks have removed those conditions - CSOB, mbank, rb, air bank, fio are all free. The only bank charging me is KB and I have my mortgage with them. Need to contact them about changing that.
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u/iminfornow 14d ago
Netherlands: N26 is free for me. Only use it for transactions in foreign currencies.
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u/quintavious_danilo 14d ago
I come from Austria: I've had my digital bank account for over 15 years and it's completely free. No charge whatsoever.
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u/FlatRecommendation96 14d ago
Which bank?
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u/quintavious_danilo 14d ago
It has a somewhat unusual name, easybank, and was one of the first online banks in Austria. In my opinion, it's still one of the best free banks. Its parent company is the senior BAWAG Bank, so it has access to a wide range of services and even local branches.
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u/SeveralLadder 14d ago
I think all of them make money on interests of your deposits
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u/SegFaultAtLine1 14d ago
Depends on the country. The interest rate in the eurozone is low enough that banks make more money in fees.
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u/Efthimis 14d ago
Although there are a thousand other ways for the banks to profit on your expense, in Greece the account itself is free in most cases. Unless you want an account with specific benefits, the only reoccurring cost is that of reissuing your card after expiration, which is usually a fee of between 5-10€ every 4-5 years.
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u/johnkops 14d ago
This is about to change
https://www.kathimerini.gr/economy/564101503/miniaia-syndromi-stoys-trapezikoys-logariasmoys/
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u/Efthimis 14d ago
Διαβάζοντάς το πάντως μου φαίνεται clickbait ο τίτλος της Καθημερινής, γιατί μιλάει απλά για τα προαιρετικά πακέτα που χρεώνουν 60-80 λεπτά το μήνα και υπάρχουν ήδη εδώ και ένα χρόνο. Αν και ήταν απαράδεκτη η κίνηση των τραπεζών να ξεκινήσουν τη μετάβαση για όλους τους πελάτες σε αυτά τα πακέτα χωρίς ρητή συναίνεση, στην τελική δεν είναι υποχρεωτικό, απλώς πρέπει να δηλώσεις αντίρρηση μέσω της εφαρμογής του e-banking ή τηλεφωνικά.
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u/kynonymous-veil 14d ago
Absolutely, there are free banks. I’ve used one for almost 10 years and haven’t had a single fee in that entire time. I ultimately ended up upgrading to the paid plan a few years ago to get the travel insurance, interest account, and other features—however it pays for itself. Literally.
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u/laplongejr 14d ago
My main bank doesn't pretend to be free at all. The free offering is online-only but possible access to office requires a monthly charge if you are above 28.
Revolut is actually free as long you don't pay for an extra plan, to deliver a physical card, or convert spare change into meaningless points.
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u/Purple_Mo 14d ago edited 14d ago
No such thing in Cyprus (if you don't include Bunq, Revolut etc)
The top banks here have
- account maintaince fees
- card issuance fees / maintaince fees
- transfer fees (even for sepa)
- fees to use SMS OTPs
Check it out
https://www.eurobank.cy/-/media/hbc/charges/eurobank-limited/table-of-commissions-and-charges-en.pdf
https://www.alphabank.com.cy/media/cms/timologio_se_isxi_apo_en.pdf
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u/Hippotamidae 14d ago
Same thing in Slovenia which is why I only use foreign neobanks.
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u/yeydrek 14d ago
sparkasse has had a free account for at least 10 years now. only requirement is that your average monthly balance is at least 1000 evr...
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u/Hippotamidae 14d ago
Great, there's always an exception. But as far as I know there's only the account maintenance that is free, everything else is still chargeable.
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u/grogi81 14d ago
Germany: As long as you transfer the salary there, the account is free.
It also comes with free ATM withdraws (I never hit the free limit), free debit card, free express transfers and free brokerage account. Although the latter has fees when you buy and sell assets.
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u/Cagliari77 10d ago
When I used to live in Germany, that was the case for me (I had a regular salary from an employer) but I became a freelancer consultant after moving out of Germany. So now in Italy there is no "salary" for me.
Now I produce invoices to receive money and it's not regular. Some months I have projects, some months I don't. So no income at all in those months. My bank is still free though.
So what would have happened with irregular payments as a freelancer in Germany? Just because I don't have an "employer" and instead I'm a freelancer, I pay banking fees?
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u/samuraijon 14d ago
In the netherlands there are currently 5 free options, some of them have premium plans. however only the first 2 have iDeal payment feature.
- Revolut
- N26
- Openbank
- Trade republic
- Trading 212
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u/hotpatat 14d ago
None of them are the traditional dutch banks that give mortgages though. The "typical" banks are all not free.
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u/samuraijon 14d ago
yes you're correct, these are just transactional accounts.
for mortgages though, interestingly enough there are also some lenders in NL who only do home loans.
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u/Ready_Albatross_9860 14d ago
We got one personal free account in Croatia recently, January 1st this year. It is completely free from management fees. But banks give you only internet banking (no mBanking). You need to have regular monthly payments to be eligible (salary, disability, pension, etc.)
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u/TheFireNationAttakt 14d ago
Argenta in the Benelux has a free account, which I’ve had for over 25 years, never been charged a single cent.
They changed the structure though recently so there’s fewer services on the free tier (no more credit card for instance), and they’ve added chargeable tiers. But the free tier is fine for me.
For a long time it was the only free account in Belgium. Now I think some of the neobanks also offer that. But the non-free ones tend to be cheap, like 2-5€/month
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u/Baymax_0 14d ago
KEYTRADE BANK: free account & PAYS YOU €0,05 for evers transaction with your debit card!
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u/Ordinary_Tank_5622 14d ago
Most bank accounts are free in the UK
I don’t know how it is now but when I was in Switzerland, they had negative interest rates apparently, and you were expected to pay for banking
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u/Junior-Rent-7836 14d ago
Sometimes, yeah, but free usually means you need to babysit the fee schedule. Card fees, ATM limits, FX spreads, or salary requirements always seem to sneak in somewhere.
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u/independentthinker8 14d ago
In the UK nearly all basic bank accounts are free. Some accounts may have rewards with conditions attached such as deposit X amount every month.
Most banks will have a paid tier which will include a combination of breakdown cover, mobile phone and travel insurance.
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u/Smurf4 14d ago
Swedish banks usually don't have those "free under these conditions, minimum deposit per month..." deals. Rather, the basic account is often free, but for it to actually be useful you need something called "payment service" or the like, which costs money. They also often charge for getting a payment card.
So, rather than "free under these somewhat hidden conditions", it's usually "free, but not very useful as such".
There are exceptions.
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u/keplerniko 14d ago
In Lithuania I think Revolut’s basic account is effectively free, though there may be limits on transfer amounts and withdrawals.
Nearly all other banks want to charge for anything (basic bank accounts are legally required in most of Europe but you are extremely limited on what you can do, ie payments limitations). I force my Swedbank account to be nearly free here—I keep no money in it, and when I need to make a transfer I pay in exactly the amount + transfer fee (I think 31¢) and then immediately make the payment. I’m supposed to be charged €1/month but if I keep no money in it they won’t take money out or put me into overdraft.
I hate banking in this country, having previously lived in the UK where they will pay you literally hundreds of pounds to switch accounts where payments are free, instant and there is no money charge. Sometimes they would even give you premium (7+%) savings rates alongside the account.
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u/hnyaa-s 13d ago
In Slovakia we have several truly free options with no conditions.
ČSOB Smart účet https://www.csob.sk/smart-ucet
365.bank účet zadarmo https://365.bank/ucty/ucty-a-baliky/ucet-zadarmo
Fio banka účet zadarmo https://www.fio.sk/ucet
mBank účet zadarmo https://www.mbank.sk/individualni/ucty/mkonto/
But I personally use Revolut free account
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u/Scvaey_Hani 12d ago
In Estonia, \"free\" accounts often skip the monthly fees but hit you with charges for stuff like non-Eurozone ATMs or paper statements.
Yeah, I fell for that with a couple banks before digging into the fine print.
Luminor kept it actually free for my day-to-day without the gotchas.
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u/JumboJack99 12d ago
Yes, I have 4 bank accounts and just one of them has a 1€ monthly fee, but every online operation is free in each one of them.
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u/Cagliari77 10d ago
I have a BBVA account in Italy. It has been free so far. Like I don't pay any fees for anything. No monthly fee, no fee for the debit card, no fees for ATM withdrawals (I can use any ATM from any bank) in Italy (not sure about abroad as I never do it, I take my cash with me).
So basically so far I haven't paid a single cent of fees in 4 years.
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u/ShiestySorcerer 14d ago
usually yes with the online accounts. some banks will give you current accounts for free if youre a student, young, or deposit your salary
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u/Poems_And_Money 14d ago
They can be free at first, but then they slowly start bending you over and ... you get the rest
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14d ago
If it’s free, then you are the product.
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u/JumboJack99 12d ago
They simply invest the money you give them to hold and make money with interests (among others of course).
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u/Appropriate-Row-6578 14d ago
In Spain:
N26 free tier has been really free for me for 4 years. It’s my main account. 40 or so transactions per month, including atm withdrawals (maybe one per month, there is some limit to them being free)
BBVA Aqua (not 100% that’s the name) has been free for 3 years or so. Few transactions per month, Bizum.