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MONEY

Which Italian bank accounts have the lowest fees in 2023?

Having a bank account in Italy can prove surprisingly expensive, and fees have soared over the past year. Here's a look at the cheapest banking options available now if you're planning to switch.

Which Italian bank accounts have the lowest fees in 2023?
Account maintenence fees and harges for transactions and cash withdrawals add up and can make having an Italian bank account surprisingly expensive. (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP)

Some 4.4 million banking customers in Italy have switched their current account provider within the past year due to “excessive costs”, according to one survey commissioned by price comparison website Facile.it, which found account fees charged by Italy’s six leading banks have increased by between eight and 26 percent over the past year.

But figuring out which is the cheapest account available – and then actually making the switch – is not always an easy feat in Italy where there’s a mind-boggling array of banking options to choose from.

The very existence of bank fees comes as an unwelcome surprise for many new foreign residents, particularly those coming from countries like the UK where banks don’t generally charge customers for the privilege of keeping their money in a current account.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about opening a bank account in Italy

But fees for the most basic of banking services are an accepted fact of life in Italy, where customers spend a lot of time monitoring charges from their banks and, once these become intolerable, trying to find a better deal.

The canone, the monthly maintence fee paid for simply keeping an Italian conto corrente (current or checking account) open, now adds up to anything between 28 and 154 euros per year at Italy’s six main banks, according to the Facile.it survey.

A branch of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo in Milan. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)

Banks say these fees are rising due to inflation, and traditional banks add that keeping branches open comes at an ever-increasing cost.

This figure doesn’t include the range of common extra charges for basic transactions including money transfers, card payments, and ATM withdrawals. The average cost of transactions has risen by 15 percent on average in the past year, according to consumer groups, pushing the cost of maintaining some accounts to around 200 euros a year.

Some accounts also come with other fixed and variable costs, such as fees for issuing your first debit or credit card, and stamp duty fees when opening an account.

But fees vary widely – one analysis found charges for comparable accounts could vary by as much as 10 times between banks – and disgruntled customers looking to switch will be pleased to know that accounts with low or even no monthly fees do exist in Italy.

According to Facile.it, online-only accounts are dramatically less expensive to maintain: 77 percent cheaper on average, in fact, compared to ‘traditional’ accounts opened in person. Just over half (54 percent) of online banking customers in Italy reportedly pay any fees at all.

The bank accounts that are rated cheapest by Italy’s main comparison websites in February 2023 include:

  • BBVA Conto Corrente;
  • ING Conto Corrente Arancio;
  • Widiba Conto Corrente;
  • ControCorrente Semplice IBL Banca;
  • Conto Crédit Agricole online;
  • Banca Mediolanum Selfyconto.

Find details about these and other accounts on Italian price comparison websites ConfrontaConti, Facile.it and SOStariffe.

Financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore also has an online comparison tool that can deduct your expenses from your likely interest to show exactly how much an account will really cost you.

And of course, make sure to read the fine print: some low-cost accounts are promotional offers which expire after a year or so, leaving you suddenly paying hefty fees. Others look more expensive, but are actually free if you maintain a low minimum balance or have your salary paid in to that account monthly.

How do you close or move bank accounts?

Once you’ve found a better deal, you’ll need to move your money and close your old account – a process which sadly isn’t always as straightforward as it should be, and may incur yet more fees.

It’s not usually as simple as walking into your local branch and asking to close your account, so you’ll need to check your bank’s website and your account contract carefully.

READ ALSO: Which are Italy’s best value supermarkets?

To close an account, in most cases, you’ll need to send a registered letter or raccomandata to your local branch including signatures from everyone on the account. Some banks will also charge a fee to close your account.

Italian law protects your right to transfer payment services from one bank account to another. Transferring your money, direct debits, and other services should be free and should take no more than 12 days for your current bank to complete the procedure – though in reality it may take weeks, or longer.

The study by Facile.it found that almost 34 percent of people surveyed (equal to some 1.5 million people) reported problems and delays when transferring payment services to a new account – a figure that rose to almost 45 percent in southern Italian regions.

Do you have any tips or recommendations for other readers looking for a low-cost bank account in Italy? Please share them in the comments below.

Member comments

  1. For young people, Intesa Sanpaolo is the best bet as they have a promotion for new clients where there are no fees applied if you are under 35 years old. This gives you the best mix of using your local branch as well as their excellent online banking. Of course, be prepared to switch accounts once you hit 35 as the fees are rather high.

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For members

TOURISM

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Inflation may now be falling but the price of a summer holiday in Italy has risen again - by up to 20 percent compared to last year.

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Italian consumer rights groups said last year that the summer of 2023 would be remembered as “the most expensive ever” for travel. But 2024 has already smashed that record, according to the latest price surveys.

The rising cost of air fares, ferry tickets, hotels, restaurants and beach clubs add up to mean a holiday in Italy will be 15-20 percent more expensive this summer compared to last year, according to a survey conducted by the Assoutenti consumer research centre in June.

While price rises in recent years have been attributed to Covid and rising inflation, which is no longer thought to be a factor, this year Assoutenti said high demand was pushing up prices amid the post-pandemic tourism boom.

Prices in Italy were “out of control as a consequence of the resumption of tourism, after the stop imposed by Covid, and the record number of foreign visitors recorded in the last year,” the survey’s authors wrote, calling on the government to take measures to contain price increases.

READ ALSO: ltaly set for summer tourism boom as bookings increase again

They warned that more Italian families were likely to “give up the summer holidays this year, not being able to face an expense that increases from year to year,” and that those who do travel may book shorter trips to keep costs down.

Some 6.5 million Italians say they won’t be going on holiday this summer at all, with half citing economic difficulties, according to a separate survey commissioned by price comparison website Facile.it.

Meanwhile, there had been a nine percent increase this year in applications for personal loans for travel purposes, the survey found.

Flight prices

One of the biggest factors was the cost of air fares, as both domestic and international flights to and from Italy were found to be more expensive again this year.

While the cost of flights between European countries had fallen slightly following inflation-driven price hikes in 2023, Italy was bucking the trend.

Italy’s flight costs had risen instead, according to recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with the average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe up by seven percent and domestic flights by 21 percent.

READ ALSO: Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Industry sources suggest the price increase is again down to unprecedented demand, while consumer groups say the main culprit is a lack of competition on the Italian market.

Transport costs

There were price hikes too for those using other modes of transport, with the rising cost of fuel and motorway tolls in Italy named as another contributing factor in the Assoutenti survey.

Ferry tickets were also more expensive, it found, with the average increase this August at +6.3 percent compared to 2023.

Hotels and B&Bs

For a family of four, the Assoutenti survey found the most expensive place to stay in Italy this summer was Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where the average price of a week’s three-star accommodation in August came to 3,500 euros.

The cheapest options were found to be Bibione, outside Venice (872 euros) and Rapallo in Liguria (909).

READ ALSO: Tourist tax: How much is it increasing in Italy’s cities this year?

The cost of accommodation at coastal destinations had risen by 23 percent on average overall, a separate survey by consumer group Altroconsumo found.

Hotels in cities were found to be a less expensive option, with most Italian families heading for the beach or mountains to escape the heat.

Restaurants

Adding to the overall cost, prices also continued to rise this year at restaurants in holiday resorts and at beach clubs: Assoutenti recorded an average increase for the catering sector of +3.5 percent on 2023.

Beaches

Renting sunbeds and umbrellas at Italy’s beach clubs is seen as a necessity by many Italian families – and often by international visitors too, given the lack of free options in many areas.

This too was becoming more expensive in 2024, with the average daily rate for a slot at one of Italy’s private beach clubs up by more than five percent on last year. Prices had also risen by as much as 11 percent between 2022 and 2023.

Beachgoers can now expect to pay around €30-35 for two sun loungers and a beach umbrella for the day on average, though prices can rise as high as €90 in Salento and €120 in parts of Sardinia.

Both private and free-access beaches in Italy also increasingly require advance booking due to higher demand.

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