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Berlin / Munich (dpa) - Bank customers looking for more insight into current account costs have to be patient.
Less than a month after the legally certified comparison website of Check24 went out, no decision has yet been made about an alternative.
"We are working flat out to bring a new comparison website on the way," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Finance of the German press agency on request.
Various options are currently being examined.
This includes the establishment of a state website, but also the commissioning of Stiftung Warentest or other providers.
Stiftung Warentest has offered to continue the comparison portal on the basis of its own database for comparing current accounts.
"A decision on whether this offer will be accepted has not yet been made," said a spokeswoman.
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According to its own statements, the ministry is currently evaluating the information it has gathered over the past few weeks.
In addition, legal framework conditions such as public procurement law must be taken into account.
It will also be checked whether certification of a comparison website operated on behalf of the state will be necessary.
The comparison portal Check24 shut down the TÜV Saarland-certified website in mid-January due to the unclear legal situation.
Bank customers found information about the amount of overdraft interest, account fees and fees for credit cards.
According to Check24, the conditions of all major private banks as well as more than 80 percent of the savings banks as well as Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken were compared based on total assets.
In addition, there were almost all direct banks.
In the opinion of consumer advocates, however, the comparison website does not meet the requirements of the EU Payment Accounts Directive, which requires substantial market coverage.
The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) and the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center went to court.
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According to the Payment Accounts Act, financial institutions must publish a list of account fees on their website.
For a comparative overview, consumers currently have to collect the information individually on the Internet.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210214-99-432595 / 2
Federal comparison website regulation
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