By offering their products to their customers, banks are interested in acquiring the maximum profit. It consists not only in receiving interest for a loan, but also in providing other services. Their payment is called differently: fees, contributions, payments, programs, and also commissions.
Formally, the commissions that were charged from the client when issuing a loan, as well as for maintaining a loan account, back in 2009, by a ruling of the Supreme Arbitration Court, were declared illegal. However, this did not stop the financiers, because they found an opportunity to bypass the law and still receive their commissions.
Bank commission is a fee for the provision of services that the bank collects from the client. Although this concept does not contain either the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, or the Law "On Banks and Banking Activities", such wording is contained in banking documents and agreements and implies payment for services rendered. It should be noted that bank commissions in terms of profit are the second source of income after interest on loans.
The amount of the commission is determined in the contract and can be expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount (for example, 1% of the money transfer amount) or in absolute figures (for example, 1000 rubles monthly for maintaining a legal entity account).
Banking fees can be divided into two types:
for the services provided, "Imposed" (or hidden) fees.
Banks charge a commission for the provision of services such as:
- money transfer,
- withdrawing cash from third-party banks,
- counting coins, banknotes,
- withdrawing cash from credit cards,
- service of credit cards,
- currency conversion,
- factoring (a banking service for suppliers working on deferred payment terms),
- documentary operations necessary for settlements between the seller and the buyer.
The second type of commission includes the so-called "imposed" commissions, which are payments for additional services of the bank, which in fact are an integral part of the main service. For example, when granting a loan, the bank may additionally collect funds from the client for:
- consideration of the application,
- issuance of a loan,
- disbursement of funds from the account,
- transfer of funds to the borrower's account,
- opening and maintaining a loan account,
- personal consultant services,
- life and health insurance,
- early repayment of the loan,
- refusal to receive a loan,
- providing the client with information about the debt.
Another additional paid option, which the client may not even be aware of, is SMS informing. The Mobile Banking service is often activated automatically after the client receives a bank card. Its provision is also paid. Funds for it will be automatically withdrawn from the mobile phone or card account. If you are not going to use it, it is better to turn it off immediately.
As a rule, hidden fees and commissions in the agreement are written in small print, so they are not striking. Therefore, when receiving a card or applying for a loan, you should carefully study all the sub-clauses of the agreement, paying special attention to the payment of additional services.
