BOV to refund customers with dormant accounts and minimum balance fees

Further to the announcement that Bank of Valletta has suspended the application of fees related to dormant accounts and those applicable to account balances below the minimum threshold of €200, following discussions with the Regulator, BOV has taken the decision to reverse the fees applied so far.

This decision was taken as “it became apparent that despite the Bank’s communication program over June to December 2020 through various media channels, a number customers remained unaware of the introduction of these charges”.

BOV said it introduced these fees to partially recover costs of retaining accounts for clients who choose to keep their accounts inactive or with a low balance.

“The Bank will be pursuing discussions with the Regulator and will be communicating afresh with its customers in this regard.”

These fees will be reversed automatically and there is no need for customers to contact their Branch or the Customer Service Centre.

Notwithstanding the above, Bank of Valletta “continues to encourage its clients not using their bank accounts to either activate these accounts, close them should they not be needed any more or opt for a basic payment account which is exempt from the application of such charges”.

The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) is investigating the introduction of banking fees after receiving a number of complaints, the Government has confirmed.

The complaints relate in part to charges introduced by BOV, which have now been withdrawn, and HSBC.

In February, HSBC Malta announced it would be moving forward with plans to charge a monthly €5 Customer Account Fee, albeit with a wider list of exemptions, after negotiations with the Central Bank of Malta and the Malta Financial Services Authority, which had asked HSBC to reconsider the charges.