Overdraft: How to trick banks with the MRP interest – Tagesspiegel

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Who covers his account, pays an average of more always more than ten percent interest, shows a study by Stiftung Warentest. Many banks are trying to cover up the amount of MRP interest therefore.

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passing it to everyone , You have to pay extra taxes or urgently needs a new washing machine – and you’re slipping into the red. At present, the Germans have covered their checking accounts with a total of 34.5 billion euros. For the banks, this is a good deal. Although the savings rates are for years now at a record low, the institutions collect in overdraft continue from: On average, the Dispo interest is still only about ten per cent, as an investigation of the Stiftung Warentest show

Especially. brash is a Raiffeisenbank in the Bavarian Trostberg-Traunreut: Up to 16 percent of their customers pay for the line of credit. But even with the banks in Berlin, the Dispo interest rates fall partly from double digits. “Too many banks use the Dispo interest to their customers to fleece,” says Hubertus Primus, CEO of Stiftung Warentest

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The banks argue with the risk of default

The financial institutions justify the high interest rates to the risk of default – they fear that customers could her account is no longer easy compensate. Documents can not be the basis of the figures, however. According to the Stiftung Warentest consumer pay only a maximum of four per cent of cases the overdraft not back

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That the Institute still get away with MRP rates of over ten percent, for a simple reason: Consumers are usually only on the cost of the overdraft, if it is too late. And even who wants to inform consumers as early, it has not been easy. Still, banks attempt to conceal the conditions for their line of credit. Of the more than 1,400 surveyed institutions, just 400 of Stiftung Warentest have notified their interest voluntarily. Even on the Internet, many financial institutions have still not published the conditions.

Especially many Volksbanken keep Dispo interest for themselves

Especially great is the secrecy is therefore at the Volksbanken. Almost half of them make on their websites no indication of the amount of their disposable interest. Also opposite the Stiftung Warentest the People’s Banker walls often: The consumer advocates could only determine the conditions of many, by sending test customers in the stores. Explained away the institutions would usually so that they are regionally active and would therefore see no point in taking part in a nationwide comparison

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For this game of hide but has not even now the Federation of German cooperative banks (BVR) understanding, which represents the interests of the Institute. Although the Volksbanken have a wide branch network with many employees and are therefore in the interest Dispo not the cheapest. “But we must therefore not hide,” said an association spokesman. The BVR have the Institute repeatedly urged to make their conditions transparent.

A law will soon increase transparency ensure

Long expected the banks with this secretiveness however anyway not get through. Currently is a law in the works, the banks should undertake from next year to publish the amount of their disposable interest on the Internet. Consumer advocates hope to achieve greater transparency

However, banks have already identified a new method to abzukassieren:. More and more institutions offer premium accounts with higher account management fees, but lower interest rates on disposable. That sounds good – but not worth getting. Depending on how the failure conditions, the Premium account can the customer even end up costing more than it saves through lower Dispo interest, shows a sample calculation of the Stiftung Warentest. Even Frank-Christian Pauli from the Federation of Consumer Organisations sees this development critically. “Customers are missing the opportunities for comparison.”

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institutions such as the German bank and its regional subsidiary Berliner Bank still use another trick: make the height of the Dispo interest on the customer’s creditworthiness. He has more he otherwise solvent from the bank’s perspective, the less pay for the overdraft. The problem: “The consumer does not know to which specific interest rate it has to be expected,” says Stephanie broadsword from the Stiftung Warentest. Finally, the customer is difficult to assess how well the Institute classifies its credit rating. The German Bank argues on the other hand, their action was “absolutely competitive”. The customer can view the amount of his individual Dispo interest on his bank statement

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