Bank commissions with new rules since January 1, 2021

Bank commissions with new rules since January 1, 2021
On January 1, 2021, new rules came into force that limit or prohibit the collection of commissions for the provision of services associated with credit agreements and for making transfers through payment applications operated by third parties.
Institutions may not charge:
1 – Housing and mortgage credit:
• Commissions for processing benefits in contracts signed after January 1, 2021.
• Commissions for issuing a statement that proves the extinction of the debt (distrate). This declaration must also be issued within a maximum period of 14 working days from the end of the contract.
• Commissions for issuing debt statements required for access to social support or benefits and public services. The ban applies up to the limit of six declarations per year.
When entering into and renegotiating credit agreements, bank customers also have the possibility to indicate an account domiciled in another institution for the purpose of reimbursement of the installment.
2 – Consumer credit
• Commissions for processing benefits in contracts signed from January 1, 2021.
• Commissions for the renegotiation of credit conditions, namely the spread or duration of the credit agreement.
• Commissions for issuing a declaration of dissolution, in consumer credit agreements with a real guarantee (for example, mortgage on a car). This declaration must also be issued within a maximum period of 14 working days from the date of termination of the contract.
• Commissions for issuing debt statements, within the scope of access to social support or benefits and public services. This prohibition applies up to the limit of six declarations per year.
3 – Transfers through payment applications operated by third parties (such as MBWay) when one of the following limits is not exceeded:
• 30 euros per transfer;
• 150 euros transferred through the application in the same month;
• 25 transfers made in the same month.
4 – Minimum banking services account
Customers who hold these accounts will be able to make, without additional charges, five more transfers per month, in an amount not exceeding 30 euros, through payment applications operated by third parties.
If one of the limits described above is exceeded, institutions may charge a commission for each transaction carried out in payment applications operated by third parties. In these situations, the amount of the commission cannot exceed 0.2% on the value of the operation, if it was carried out with a debit card, or 0.3% on the value of the operation, when using a credit card.
Source: Bank of Portugal