CaixaBank raises the commission to Bankia customers without a link by 43%, but makes it easier for them not to pay anything

Bankia customers are receiving a barrage of letters with product conditions that will change due to the merger with CaixaBank. The commercial policy of the latter is the one that will be imposed on the around 7.4 million customers from the old rescued bank. The latest document specifies that those not linked will pay an annual commission of 240 euros, 43% more than the one they paid at Bankia. In any case, it requires fewer conditions to save commissions. Three out of four customers will be exempt from paying them.

One of the changes is that the debit card will no longer be free, for all customers without exception, also for those who meet the link requirements requested by CaixaBank, as published by CincoDías on August 31. Instead, they will be entitled to a credit card, although with characteristics similar to those of a debit card. A few days after that communication, former Bankia users have received another in which they are explained the changes in the conditions of the accounts, which will come into force on November 12.

One of the novelties for customers who are not linked under the conditions of the CaixaBank program, called Day to Day, will be in the administration and maintenance fees. The client must pay 60 euros per quarter in case of not complying with any of the conditions of the entity that Gonzalo Gortázar pilots as CEO. That is to say, 240 euros per year, with eventual expenses in other services, such as transfers or deposits of checks, also included. At Bankia, the price of the account was 14 euros per month, 168 euros per year, if the requirements of the Por ser tú program were not honored.

CaixaBank raised the price of accounts for unrelated clients in February last year. It is the entity that charges the most for having a checking account for customers who do not have other products. It is also true that the bank lowers or eliminates these commissions in a simple way, even more easily than Bankia.

"CaixaBank has the easiest connection program for Spanish banks to comply with and, starting in November, all customers from Bankia who have their income and three receipts domiciled or make three credit card payments to quarter. In total, it means that more than 13.6 million customers will have free the most usual operations with the bank", explains the entity in a press release.

The possibilities it offers to avoid having to pay those 240 euros a year are several. Domicile a salary equal to or greater than 600 euros per month, a pension of 300 euros or more or have products –investment funds, savings insurance and pension plans– for more than 20,000 euros. If any of these conditions are met, the quarterly cost drops to 15 euros per quarter (60 euros per year).

In the event that the customer, in addition to meeting one of the above requirements, makes three payments with any CaixaBank card or has received three or more direct debit receipts and paid into the account – however, they cannot be from entities linked to the group, such as Adelas or VidaCaixa)– you will not pay one euro per year in maintenance or administration fees, nor for transfers or check cashing (the latter, if they are made through the self-service).

The fee will also be free for users under 26 years of age and with a digital profile, as well as for new customers for a period of six months. Those who meet vulnerability criteria have stopped paying commissions after the legal merger at the end of last March, and from January they will be automatically registered in the entity's social account, with which they will continue without paying any cost.

The entity's digital bank, Imaginbank, which allows operations only through a mobile application, also offers an account without any type of commission, not even for the debit card, even if the client is not linked. This is an option for ON Account customers, who may be particularly affected.

This is how they see it from the banking product comparator HelpMyCash: "Some of the clients most affected by the absorption of Bankia are those who had contracted the ON Account and are going to be migrated to the Day to Day program. In this case, they will have to assume a connection that was not mandatory before and, in addition, give up the debit card if they want to continue operating for free". If they don't, they will have to pay up to 276 euros a year for the account and the debit card. An alternative for all those who do not want to meet the requirements of the Day to Day program or pay commissions is to open an account in Imagin, CaixaBank's mobile banking, and close the current one or change banks," they explain.

Unrelated Bankia customers, to save 168 euros per year, had to meet more demanding requirements. First, enter a salary of 700 euros or more, a pension of 250 euros or more or an unemployment benefit of 400 euros or more. Second, have 30,000 euros in investment funds, unit linked, savings insurance or pension plans or have risk insurance (for example, car or home) for at least 135 euros a year or make at least two purchases at month with a Bankia card. If the client only met the income requirement, the annual bill was reduced to 72 euros.

Customers who had at least 40,000 euros in savings products such as those mentioned, were under 18 years of age or between 18 and 25 years of age and had activated the digital banking correspondence service were also exempt from any commission.