The banks’ packages are accompanied by services that create value for the customer, such as e.g. the free membership of a credit card, which currently incurs a cost of 25-50 euros per year. [SHUTTERSTOCK]
They ensure savings from 7 to 44 euros per month, according to the banks, the new transaction packages they are promoting, which allow a certain number of banking operations to be carried out, such as paying bills or transferring money between banks within Greece, with a monthly charge to the customer’s account instead of pricing each service separately. It’s about European model pricing of banking operations based on the logic of the monthly commission instead of the piecemeal charge of each transaction and which serves its users internet ή mobile banking or those who want to get more into their logic electronic transactions.
The pricing of the packages that the banks have today starts from 2 euros per month for the simplest packages and reaches up to 10 euros per month. Based on the banks’ calculations, this logic leads to up to 4x savings per month for someone who uses all the services and benefits as it comes with services that create value for the customer, such as e.g. the free membership of a credit card, which currently incurs a cost of 25-50 euros per year, depending on the privileges each card has.
Common practice is the transfer of amounts up to 500 euros per day from one bank to another with zero or very little cost, e.g. of 50 minutes per transaction through the IRIS service.
According to the banks, their customers save between 7 and 44 euros per month.
The new practice in bank charges obeys the philosophy that every service has a cost. From the issuance of the simple debit card to the bonuses redeemed by someone who uses the card – debit or credit – for their daily transactions, or sms notifications for product movements, incorporate a cost which is now evident in the form of e.g. h. subscription to the card. So depending on whether someone wants to keep these benefits at a lower cost, they can join one of the transaction packages, which ensure a certain number of “free” transactions or services. The pricing currently offered by Greek banks in order to “educate” the transactions in this new practice is affordable and as assured by competent bank executives, as long as the model of unified banking transactions is gradually expanded, the benefits will multiply for consumers.
Her example is indicative Eurobank which is piloting the “My Blue Advantage” transaction package, which for just 0.60 euros per month offers 1 standing order for automatic bill payment – roughly the same as the cost of a standing order – in combination with the issuance of a debit card free of charge for 5 years, the use of the account at another bank to carry out a transaction, discounts at large merchants, etc.
The goal is to familiarize the customer by accepting the monthly billing of his account even with a symbolic cost of 0.60 euros, so that he can then evaluate the possibility of choosing a more upgraded plan with more options and of course a higher cost. Characteristic of the promotional logic followed by the bank is that the “My Blue Advantage” package is offered free of charge to pensioners or employees who keep their respective account at Eurobank or to customers who have a balance (e.g. deposits) of more than 50,000 euros. The rest of Eurobank’s transaction packages (My Silver, My Gold, My Platinum) are enriched with additional features, such as the free (from 1 to 5 transactions per month) money transfer to a domestic bank – which, based on the bank’s tariff, costs 1, 2 euros each – or up to 1 incoming transfer per month for free for someone who chooses the most upgraded package of 10 euros per month combined with unlimited standing orders to pay bills, the free credit card subscription, etc.
At a cost of between 2-5 euros per month, the transaction package is priced under its “Value” brand National Bank, which enables a certain number of remittances – 1 or 2 – to a domestic bank, the possibility of an incoming remittance for free, 1 free credit card payment from another bank, a discount of 1 unit on the purchase rate, etc. The transaction package “EXFLYSI” offered by Piraeus Bank ensures at a cost of 10-25 euros per year up to 50 account payments per year via winbank.