The trap of remaining loyal to one's bank
The average annual cost for those who have opened an account for less than a year is EUR 58.8. A cost that doubles to EUR 122.3 for accounts opened for more than 10 years
The summary figure of the Bank of Italy's 2025 survey on current account expenditure incurred by households in the previous year is not positive: in 2024, the average total costs incurred by individual customers rose to EUR 101.1 (from EUR 100.7 in 2023). At the post office, current account expenses also continue to rise and have reached EUR 71.6 per year. They were EUR 53.6 in 2014. The survey collects information on the operating expenses actually incurred by households and documented in the account statements sent to customers.
These data come in a context that sees the banking system at the centre of the political debate that has led to a tightening, foreseen in the Manovra, of Irap for banks (and insurance companies) and stricter rules on deductions and reserves, to provide immediate liquidity to the State. However, between the lines of the work, published this week by Bankitalia, some encouraging evidence can be gleaned.
First and foremost, the contraction in fixed charges (to EUR 65.4), dictated by a drop for the second year running in basic fees and debit card issuing fees, even though the average fees (EUR 35.7) charged on transactions have risen; in addition, it must be said that the number of account holders has increased. And this is where the banks now continue to leverage to increase revenues. The latest unilateral changes communicated by some institutions to customers, for example, concern the increase (but also the introduction ex novo, which would not really be a change) of the charges for certain types of payments: repayments of loan instalments, payments of recurring insurance premiums, and subscriptions for online services of various kinds. The 'justified' reason given by the banks in these cases? Not having foreseen the growth in the use of the Ssd service to regularise these payments, which entails operational costs for the banks. Wrong predictions, which are now being passed on to customers.
On the other hand, it is to be recorded with a sigh of relief that the wave of rent increases recorded in recent years, justified by the banks first with the negative rate scenario and later with rising inflation, has stopped - at least for the time being. Negative rates are now a distant memory, but the banks have never restored the previous contractual conditions. In fact, lending institutions are used to varying fees and commissions with one-way changes that are always upwards, even if the reasons given for the change are then lost.
But the most positive signal to be taken from the latest survey on current accounts by the Bank of Italy is the growing popularity among Italians of online current accounts, which now offer the same basket of services as conventional accounts, but which enable customers to make considerable savings: in 2024, the management fee for an online account averaged EUR 30.6. Although up by EUR 1.7 compared to the previous year, the savings compared to conventional accounts is EUR 70.5 per year.
