The report describes that “more than half of Portuguese people show growing dissatisfaction with the costs and accessibility of banking services”, mainly with regard to “high maintenance fees” and “restrictions on opening hours”, as per a press release cited by the same source.

“The value of commissions applied to current accounts has been a major factor in the relationship between Portuguese people and the banking entities they work with, with more than 61% of respondents considering the maintenance commissions they pay too high”, they concluded.

Almost half of respondents say they pay up to 60 euros per year in bank fees, while 26% say they pay between 60 and 120 euros. In turn, 2% of respondents spend more than 120 euros per year on bank fees, which are used to maintain the account. Only 22% of participants say they do not pay commissions, while 3% do not know how much they pay, reveals the same source.

João Guerra, CEO of Nickel in Portugal, considers bank commissions “a recurring problem in the national financial sector”.