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Freeze on bank charges in Hungary finalised: OTP Bank is the first to reduce retail charges
The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) and the Hungarian Banking Association have reached an agreement that will make banking costs simpler, more transparent and cheaper, Mihály Varga, the central bank governor, said in a statement on Tuesday.
After a meeting with association leaders, the sides agreed that lenders would waive fees on no-frills retail accounts until headline CPI remained under 4pc — the upper threshold of the central bank’s tolerance band — for three consecutive months. Banks also agreed to inform their clients of cheaper account packages that could better suit them, undertake a customer information campaign detailing and comparing account costs, use the central bank’s account package calculator on their websites to help clients select the best account for their needs, and allow clients to close old accounts online, NBH said.
OTP takes steps to bring down retail banking fees
As we wrote last November, OTP Bank shocked customers with fee increases, details HERE.
OTP Bank, Hungary’s biggest commercial lender, on Tuesday announced steps in line with government efforts to bring down service price inflation. After talks between the National Economy Ministry and the Hungarian Banking Association, OTP said it was prepared to freeze retail account and bank card fees until June 30, 2026. This date is important because it is expected that there will be a price increase after the parliamentary elections, which will help the current Government.
The lender said it would counter inflation-linked fee increases for retail clients introduced on March 1 by extending discounts worth several billion forints, and reducing their banking costs by close to HUF 2bn in the twelve months starting May 1. As a result, OTP will comply with the request of the national economy minister to roll back retail banking fees to levels at the start of 2025, it added.
As we wrote in March, Hungarian OTP Bank’s 2024 profit exceeds psychological barrier, details HERE
I am not a fan of OTP. I have noticed OTP has recently lowered the daily cash draw amount from OTP cash machines from 100 thousand Forints per day to 75 thousand Forints per day. These daily limits reductions are outrageous. If a customer has the funds they should be allowed to take out what they want subject to their own banks daily limits. Thankfully some of their competitors do allow much higher daily limits. MAY I REMIND OTP it is not your money it is the card holders. IF you do not wish to allow cash machine users to withdraw what they want OTP should be banned from operating cash dispensers.