Some savings banks try to persuade ATM customers to accept fee increases.
(Photo: imago images / Joko)
Frankfurt If banks and savings banks want to raise fees for checking accounts, they now need the explicit consent of their customers – in writing, via online banking or by telephone. After a few weeks, 75-95% of customers often agree. Reaching the rest is considered difficult. Some savings banks have also recently tried to obtain a “yes” from the ATM.
This includes Berliner Sparkasse, Germany’s second largest savings bank. The bank, which made checking accounts more expensive in July, is now getting approval from as many of its 1.3 million customers as possible. Among other things, it uses ATMs that customers can use to confirm their agreement to the new prices, as the head of the savings bank, Johannes Evers, recently said.
The Sparkasse Mecklenburg-Schwerin also relies on the ATM variant. “Are aimed at customers of online banking, whose current general conditions have already been deposited in the electronic mailbox and whose approval is still pending”, explains the savings bank on request.
Savings banks: Approval of current account fees at ATMs
At the Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf, which is also currently increasing current accounts, customers can find the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) in writing at the branches – and can accept them on site by signing them or at the ATM. Three fields appear there: “Accept”, “Already done” and “Ignore”.
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Neither the German Savings Banks Association nor its IT service provider Finanz Informatik (FI) can say how many savings banks in total are using ATMs to boost approval rates. The option has existed since autumn 2021 and has since been gradually used by banks. According to the FI, the prerequisite is to have previously sent the general conditions to the customers.
The FI indicates another possibility for savings banks: customers could print a mini form for approval on the account statement printer, sign it and give it to the branch or drop it in the mailbox of the agency. Savings banks cannot rely solely on online banking, around 40% of their customers do not do their banking on a computer or smartphone app.
The same is true with cooperative banks. Since the beginning of last week, the terms and conditions have been accepted via self-service devices, i.e. also via ATMs. Cooperative IT service provider Atruvia (formerly Fiducia GAD) explains that any device with the appropriate software version can be used by the bank as part of the terms and conditions campaign to obtain exceptional customer consent.
BGH shutdown makes price hikes for current accounts more difficult
The background for the financial institutions’ efforts is a judgment of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) of April 2021. According to it, financial institutions must obtain the express consent of their customers in the event of changes to the general conditions, for example price increases (Az. XI ZR 26/20). The Federal Consumers Association had sued the Postbank, which had raised prices several times in recent years.
Until the verdict, banks and savings banks had generally raised fees via clauses in existing terms and conditions. They assumed that customers would tacitly consent if they did not object to a change within two months. Since very similar terms and conditions are used in the German banking sector, the BGH decision is considered decisive for the entire sector.
Financial institutions are now getting approval for the fee increases that were just announced. On the other hand, they require the consent of the customer for price increases over the past three years and also adapt their general terms and conditions here.
However, some customers are not reacting, especially with regard to price increases in the past. “Banks and savings banks have the problem that some customers do not agree to the terms and conditions. In the best case it is only about two or three percent of customers, but for many many banks, it’s about more,” says Oliver Mihm, head of the Investors Marketing consultancy.
While most lending institutions are still hesitant to terminate customers for this reason, Postbank recently did just that. Postbank, which is owned by Deutsche Bank, began terminating customers who disagree with current terms and prices from April 30.
Postbank: Termination in case of non-approval
Nevertheless, Postbank is giving the affected customers a bit more time – and again relies on a kind of tacit consent: If customers continue to use their account from May 1, they automatically accept the current terms and conditions, explains Postbank. in a letter to customers. This can be done with a one-time bank transfer, card payment or by withdrawing cash from an ATM.
Other banks should follow. If you continue to use the account, you assume that a so-called implied action has taken place, i.e. if an action involves a declaration of intent. Councilor Mihm sees it as “a valid option to solve the problem of bank approval”.
In any case, consumer advocates are not taking any action against this: “We have already seen this at Volksbanks and have decided not to attack it”, says Niels Nauhauser from the Baden-Württemberg Consumer Center. However, it is important to ensure that the customers concerned have been informed of the new conditions and prices.
After: Current accounts are becoming more expensive: one in two banks increases its prices