Bank Charges

07/03/2013 - 05:28

When I first opened my Italian Bank account in 2008 I was surprised to see the charges of 1€ per month plus 8+€ evey quarter.  I was told it was interim and eventually the 8+€ ended.  Suddenly the 8+€ has returned and seems excessive for what are limited savings to cover IMU, Gas, Electric etc.  What is the purpose of the quarterly charge (it seems to apply to most banks)?  Are there any no or low interest accounts available?  Bearing in mind that from next year I will be liveing on a modest pension and don't want to keep feeding the sharks that run the banks.

Comment

Thanks for your original respose, it looks interesting.  At the moment we are non resident and plan to move there permanantly next May.  When we move I don't want to see my meagre pension carved away by the banks (tax is bad enough) so I'm looking for a service that charges little or nothing.