Tatra Banka. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
Clients of VÚB Banka and Tatra Banka will soon pay more for their products as both are about to introduce changes to their price list, including fees for accounts, for using credit cards and various non-cash transactions.
In the case of the former, the changes will come into effect starting July, or at the end of may in the case of the latter, reports Hospodárske Noviny (HN).
The changes result from the extra bank levy that is part of the consolidation package introduced at the end of the last year. Experts had warned that banks might want a part of the money back and that they might do so by increasing prices for their products.
According to OVB Allfinanz Slovensko financial analyst Marián Búlik, the levy will take approximately a third of the banks' profits this year.
For example, instead of paying €6 for an account, VÚB Banka clients will pay €7. The bank says that the account fee had not changed in years.
When it comes to Tatra Banka, if its clients have an account without additional products, the fee will rise from €5 to €7.
"Most of the changes concern operations, services for which there is a free or cheaper digital alternative. If clients actively use such services, the changes will affect them only minimally or not at all," Tatra Banka spokeswoman Simona Miklošovičová tells HN.
The other two big banks - Slovenská Sporiteľňa and ČSOB - told HN that they are not going to introduce changes to their price list in the near future. Other banks such as UniCredit Bank, Fio Banka and 365 will not change their prices as well.
