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The Spanish have found a steeper January slope than usual this year. The reason? Several banks have made their current accounts more expensive , especially to less related clients, and have tightened the conditions to get rid of commissions for the most common services. In some cases, the cost has increased from zero to more than one hundred euros a year.

Banco Santander is one of the entities that has chosen to increase commissions to improve its revenues: it has increased the maintenance costs of its Zero Account from 8 to 12 euros per month for customers who do not meet the linkage requirements.

The Banco Sabadell Expansion Account now has a cost of five euros even if the payroll is domiciled, except for pensioners and young people. Likewise, the entity has launched the Premium Expansion Account, which does not charge commissions, but requires a higher degree of bonding.

A similar strategy has been followed by Bankia, which as of February 23 will no longer settle for a payroll to free its customers from commissions. The entity has tightened the conditions of the program Because it is you and, from then on, in addition to the payroll, it will be necessary to hire a credit card and make two monthly uses or have insurance or subscribe investment products. However, the ON Account , reserved for new clients that maintain a digital profile, will remain exempt from expenses and linking requirements.

Despite the trend that seems to be prevailing in the banking sector, there are still entities that sell current accounts without commissions that do not require assuming any type of bonding, do not even force the client to direct a payroll or a receipt, nor to maintain a minimum balance or to use the associated card a specific number of times, explain the experts of the financial product comparator HelpMyCash.com. They are accounts free of expenses and ties, which can serve as a primary account or as a secondary account.

Online banking is still betting on everything for free

Digital banks remain faithful to their traditional strategy: commercialize checking accounts without commissions and without linking. These entities allow issuing transfers, hiring cards and withdrawing money from thousands of ATMs at no cost and without the need to direct a payroll or any other recurring income.

An example is the Openbank Open Current Account that allows its holders to carry out all the basic operations at no cost and, in addition, gives the opportunity to go to some 3,000 Santander offices to make income and to withdraw money from the 7,500 ATMs of the Cantabrian bank . ImaginBank also fulfills the premise completely free: your checking account is free regardless of the link assumed by the customer. In addition, as an additional advantage, it allows you to get free money at any ATM in about thirty European countries (in Spain only from CaixaBank).

The 'fintech' banks, the new refuge for dissatisfied customers

Fintech banking, represented in Spain by entities such as N26, Ferratum Bank or Orange Bank, among other names, also markets current accounts without commissions and without linking, but with added advantages.

The standard current account of N26 , for example, allows you to get free money five times a month at any ATM in the eurozone, does not charge foreign exchange fees and lets you make international transfers up to eight times cheaper than in traditional banking.

Orange Bank , on the other hand, allows you to get money up to three times a month at no cost in the eurozone terminals, although its main hook is a 1% APR savings account for the first 20,000 euros, a much higher than average return .

Both entities have a Spanish branch, so they have current accounts with IBAN started by ES , which facilitates the direct debit of receipts and regular income. Being foreign entities, they are protected by the FGD of their respective countries: the German in the case of N26 and the French in the case of Orange Bank.

Traditional banking uses freedom as a hook

Not only digital banks market checking accounts without commissions and without linking. Traditional banks, the same ones that have tightened the conditions of their accounts, also market current accounts without ties and without expenses. It seems a contradiction, but in reality several entities use these accounts as a hook to attract new customers. This is the case of the aforementioned Bankia ON Account or the BBVA Online Account , both reserved only for new customers.

Although not all are for new customers only, most focus on customers with a digital profile. Except for that of BBVA, which allows you to visit the bank's offices, these types of accounts are designed for clients who do not use the branches, since, otherwise, they do earn commissions. It occurs with the aforementioned Bankia account, with the Clara de Abanca Account or with the Cajamar Wefferent Account, all of which are exempt from expenses and linking as long as it is operated through digital channels.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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