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The Portuguese pay in bank commissions twice the amount paid by the Spanish neighbors for having the lowest level of service in Europe. The conclusion comes from a study by the consulting firm Deloitte in Spain in collaboration with the Spanish Banking Association. The average annual price of banking services in Portugal is 78 euros, while it is 38 euros in Spain. In terms of level of service, Portugal is the worst in Europe – the number of services offered by banks in Portugal compared to the percentage of services available via at least two channels is lower than in other countries of the world. # 39; s analysis. Spain and Italy are the best. In the case of the neighboring country, in addition to having much lower bank charges than those practiced in Portugal, it offers the greatest number of services to customers and offers the largest multichannel offer.
The data do not surprise Nuno Rico, economist at Deco Protester. "We have fewer and fewer banks in Portugal and more and more expensive, it is the fate of Portuguese consumers" said the economist. He recalled that banks continued to close branches, reduce the number of employees, and hurt clients who had less and less access to services, especially those with lower literacy skills. Despite the increasing digitization of services, which generate savings for banks, this is not reflected in the prices charged to customers. "Digitization has brought millions of euros of savings to banks but, unfortunately, the commissions charged should even increase."
Banks have received state aid over the years, for a total of 15.525 billion euros.
The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection recently filed a petition in the Portuguese Parliament, with more than 20,000 signatures demanding the end of certain bank charges imposed on Portugal.
Worse in Services
In the study, Deloitte analyzed the fees paid in seven countries: Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The price of financial services in Portugal is 78 € per year on average, lying in the middle of the table of countries included in the analysis and below the average of 91 euros. The best is the United Kingdom, where the average is 20 euros per year. The most expensive is Germany, where the average annual cost reaches 181 euros but is also the country that offers the greatest number of services: 115.
Of the seven countries analyzed in the study, the Portugal has the fewest free services provided by banks. In total, there are only 47 free services in Portugal, compared with 87 in Spain. The European average is 59. In Spain, 76% of banking services are free, while in Portugal they are only 68% and the European average is 72%.
Portugal is the second worst country in terms of the number of services provided to customers. While Spanish banks offer 115 services, the Portuguese offer 69. Only the United Kingdom has fewer services: 67. It was not possible to obtain a comment from the Portuguese Association of Banks.
Digital services are not even possible. The annual price of digital banking in Portugal is 61 € per year, more expensive than the prices of traditional services, while in Spain it does not exceed 20 €. For the study, Deloitte analyzed the commissions of New Bank, Millennium BCP, Santander and ActivoBank, which account for more than 50% of cases
Several factors contribute to the existence of more expensive banking fees in Portugal. The low level of interest rates and the crisis affecting Portuguese banks in recent years have led banks to develop strategies to increase their incomes. Several banks have received state aid over the years, for a total of 15.525 billion euros. With the financial and economic crisis, the level of malparado in banks skyrocketed and the sector reduced its credit stock .
Digital adaptation has led banks to change the way they offer their services and to introduce commissions that did not exist before. For example, the bank adopted the very interesting strategy of starting to bill products that were free, "said Nuno Rico. "There is no shortage of examples of services that are billed by banks in Portugal and which are free in other countries."
Deloitte recalls that the models of financial services offered by banks differ between countries. The most common is what exists in Portugal, with banks providing "flat rate" services. In Spain, the bank has adopted a model based on the relationship with the customer. In the United Kingdom, access and use are free and customers pay only for less common banking services.
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