29.03.2022
THE CHEAP BANK ACCOUNT THAT FEW PEOPLE HAVE, BUT EVERYONE CAN OPEN
Have you heard of the Payment Account for Basic Operations (PABO)? It should, because it is offered by all banks operating in Bulgaria since 2016. And its biggest advantage is that it is cheap.
In conditions of continuous increase of fees and commissions, the costs of maintenance and operation of the special PABO must be "eligible", as expressed by the BNB. The central bank regulates these fees, unlike others, which it only registers and summarizes for analysis. Thus, fees for PABO must meet two conditions at the same time - they must be lower than the average amount of fees for the service on the banking market in our country and even better - they are the lowest possible, which the bank itself offers according to your tariff for current accounts. Unfortunately, in the usual case it is a matter of saving pennies.
For example, if the service of opening a current account with a debit card to it on average for the market cost BGN 1.57 (according to BNB data for the whole of 2021), the fee in PSOO in DSK Bank is BGN 1.51, and in UniCredit Bulbank - BGN 1.50. The annual maintenance of a card account in DSK is BGN 29.16, and in UniCredit Bulbank - between BGN 17.40 and 28.80 (depending on the receipts on the account) at an average of BGN 29.40 for the market. The cash withdrawal at Postbank is BGN 2.80 (up to BGN 1,000) or a minimum of BGN 4.50 (up to BGN 2,000) compared to the market average of BGN 3.69. And the most popular service
ATM withdrawals come by a penny cheaper.
With an average value for the banking market in Bulgaria last year of BGN 0.26 (when the card is used at an ATM of the issuing bank) and BGN 1.14 (when it is a foreign ATM) at Fibank, for example, it is BGN 0.24 and BGN 1.14, respectively.
As the name suggests, this is a bank account with which the most popular banking operations can be performed - the account may or may not be linked to a debit card, it can be withdrawn from an ATM or cash register, you can receive a salary or pension You can pay your electricity, water, internet bills, pay at the POS terminal in the store, order transfers, even use it for online shopping. Other, less popular services can be added, which, however, will be paid according to the bank's standard rates. In other words - this is the cheapest alternative to a bank account and that is why banks have no interest in offering it. However, they do not have the option to refuse to open a JI, unless the client already has one, regardless of which bank. That is, only one per person is allowed. There are no exact statistics on how many Bulgarians have such an account.
But back in 2018, the national association "Active Consumers" conducted a study that showed that banks are silent about its existence or refuse customers, arguing that it is only for the socially disadvantaged and that it can not perform a bunch of normal activities. At the moment, things look much better - on the websites of all banks there is a separate section with information about PABO, fees and documents needed for the opening. But it is certainly not offered as a first option to people who come to open a new bank account. It is good to note that PABO is intended only for individuals and is only in BGN.
SOLIDARITY
PABO was introduced by EU Directive 2014/95 with the argument that constantly rising bank fees create preconditions for financial exclusion of certain social groups. They would not open bank accounts due to high costs, which would deprive them of many opportunities.
