The Minister of Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Comparability of Fees, Change of Payment Account and Access to Payment Accounts Act 2017 (Act 64 of 2017)(I)/2017), issued Orders, which came into force on 2/11/2020, on the determination of reasonable fees for accounts with basic features.
Prior to the issuance of the Orders, a study was conducted by the Central Bank of Cyprus, at the request of the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The study took into account national income levels, the average fees charged by credit institutions in Cyprus for services provided in relation to payment accounts and the practices of other Member States.
The relevant Ordinances remain in force and provide for the following:
(a) The setting of a maximum fee of €36 per year on a Payment Account with Basic Features (PPA) per consumer, with no limitation of transactions for most of the services (opening, operating and closing an account as well as depositing funds) and a minimum number of transactions, amounting to 100 per year, for other payment services (direct debits, credit card payments, etc.).) and which relate to services within the European Union and for amounts per transaction below €5.000.
(b) The zero charge for withdrawals from ATMs within the European Union, regardless of the Bank.
(c) The zero charge for the minimum number of transactions for which the FIs will only charge reasonable fees to all recipients of the Guaranteed Minimum Income.
The Orders ensure reasonable charges for most banking services provided to consumers.
The Orders ensure reasonable charges for most banking services provided to consumers.
The public is invited to contact their credit institutions to determine their basic account (LBBX) so that they can take advantage of the provisions of the Orders, if they have not already done so.
As a reminder, each consumer/customer can determine a basic account (LBBX) irrespective of the number of credit institutions they deal with. The basic account (LBBX) can also be a joint account, but cannot be an account that is linked to any credit facility (e.g. current account limit, credit card, etc.).
It should be noted that, in accordance with the acquis communautaire, other than basic accounts (LBBX), banks' other charges are left to the policy of each credit institution and the Minister of Finance has no right to intervene in their determination.
(NΓ/EHR)
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