€ 60 for depositing in cash only – man was outraged by unhidden margins

A reader who approached Delfi assures that he has deposited cash in Luminor Bank, and only the next day he learns that a commission of 60 euros has been applied for this transaction. He is outraged that the bank has “turned it on” and that the practice is not transparent.

“I deposited cash into my account at the ATM. Everything was in order, I saw the amount that I put in the ATM, everything is nice and neat. The next day, when I check my bank statements, I see a 60 euro charge for depositing cash. I was very surprised to see that fee, but I thought maybe it was a mistake and called Luminor Bank to explain. The consultant explained to me that the fee had been deducted because I used a credit card to deposit money, ”says Justin.

He also provided a bank statement as proof. It was a first for the general man that there was a fee for depositing money into an account at an ATM.

“The consultant explained again that such fees are listed in a PDF file somewhere on the bank’s website.” All stores and service providers try to indicate all taxes payable transparently before transactions, and Luminor lives in 1994, in the banana region, and they just need to leave some PDF somewhere and everyone should know their numbers, “said the angry man.

According to him, the ATM not only provided a fee, but also did not warn that there will be additional charges for using a credit card.

“I just realized that there was a total absurdity, opacity and ridiculous. It would be interesting to know the position of Luminor and the Bank of Lithuania, is everything really transparent here, all the necessary information is provided on the spot (not in a pdf file) and is it legal to collect a deposit in general? Justinas asked.

Luminor: ATM does not show this because it cannot estimate the price

In a comment sent to Luminor, you confirm that the bank does not indicate the price of depositing, withdrawing money or other services.

The ATM was unable to estimate the price of the future transaction before it took place, because it “did not know” how much will be deposited. The ATM could not calculate the commission amount and the deposit process after completion; the ATM simply does not have and cannot have information about the conditions available for each specific bank customer, ”explains Indrė Baltrušaitienė, Communications Manager at Luminor Bank in Lithuania.

The only service whose price can be seen in an ATM is the currency exchange price, since it is a standard rate that applies equally to everyone.

“Fees from bank card issuers are not seen at all at ATMs. Because some fees will apply if the customer goes to their bank’s ATM, other fees will apply if they go to another bank’s ATM ”, Says I. Baltrušaitienė.

Rates will also differ depending on the type of card and the prices of the customer’s basket of services.

“The service fee may differ depending on the type and type of card used, the price of the customer’s basket of services. The ATM only sends the data to the card issuer, whose banking systems recognize a specific customer and apply specific fees. As the conditions of each client and card are different, this is a rather complicated procedure for which no ATM is adapted ”, comments a representative from Luminor.

Ensures that the information provided at the ATM meets the legal requirements and technical capabilities of ATMs.

“It can be assumed that the customer did not ask for prices in advance, and the information provided at the ATM was certainly not sufficient to assess the costs of the transaction. We understand your outrage and we apologize for the discomfort you have caused us, ”says I. Baltrušaitienė.

He had to contribute about 4,000 euros

Delfi has already announced that banks operating in the country are increasing fees related to cash deposits.

“From the situation described by the client, it can be concluded that he brought cash by credit card. Depending on the available credit card (Visa Black, Visa Infinite, Visa Gold or Visa Classic), the free deposit can be € 600 or € 1,000. The amount that exceeds these limits is taxed at 2%. commission. To collect a tax rate of € 60, the customer had to deposit € 3,600 or € 4,000 in cash.

If I had deposited cash with a debit card, it would have cost € 6 or € 6.8 to deposit the same amount ”, calculates Luminor.

The most detailed bank rates are publicly available on the website.

Recommend not to waste your credit card

To prevent similar situations from happening again, Luminor reminds us that a credit card is, above all, an opportunity to borrow money from a bank to cover your own needs at any time.

“All banks have a different pricing policy for credit cards and their linked accounts than they do for regular checking accounts and their associated debit cards. Be sure to check this information on the bank’s websites or in your online banking. We honestly do not recommend using a credit card for everyday payments and billing, it just isn’t for that. However, we are sure that on those rare occasions, when you have considered your possibilities for additional obligations, a credit card is a tool. convenient and very useful ”, explains I. Baltrušaitienė.

It ensures that all banks not only encourage a reduction in the use of cash, but also apply different pricing principles to cash and non-cash transactions.

“The use of cash has been steadily declining in recent years, but, admittedly, the process is not as fast as one would like. Therefore, all banks pay a lot of attention and resources to improving the infrastructure of the banks. non-cash operations and the implementation of individual solutions. Naturally, cash transactions seem less and less attractive, “said the response.

Bank of Lithuania: legal acts do not provide for the obligation to provide information when using the service

Jurgita Guobienė, representative of the Payment Market Supervision Division of the Bank of Lithuania, explains that the fees for commercial banking services are not regulated (except for the main account basket). The legislation does not oblige commercial banks to provide information on applicable fees each time a customer initiates a payment transaction with a payment card.

“Of course, it is an unpleasant episode, but we were only able to comment on this event specifically after examining all the circumstances in detail. According to the requirements, a commercial bank must inform its clients about all fees charged to clients for their Payment card transactions at the time the payment service agreement is concluded. This agreement, together with the fees, must be presented to the customer in writing, “says J. Guobienė.

If the fees for the provision of payment services change, the bank must personally inform the customer of these changes in the manner specified in the agreement no later than 60 days before his request.

“If the customer does not agree to the amendments, the commercial bank must create conditions for the customer to terminate the payment service agreement free of charge before the effective date of the amendments,” says J. Guobienė.

It points out that the public publication of the applicable rates on the bank’s website cannot be considered an adequate presentation of the information.

“If the client considers that he has not been duly informed about the charges that are applicable to him or changes in these charges and, therefore, he simply could not have been aware of said charge, we suggest that he first contact the bank in writing , exposing all the circumstances. If a commercial bank provides an unsatisfactory response to the client, then to the Bank of Lithuania. We will examine the client’s situation and evaluate whether the bank has correctly fulfilled its functions provided for in the legal acts “, the representative is responsible of the Bank of Lithuania.