ING vs Abanca: fees, account freezes and banking that's no longer what it was

ING vs Abanca: the battle for your current account

Paying off a mortgage should be a relief, not the start of a bureaucratic nightmare. A customer of Abanca (the successor to Caixa Galicia) found that, after making his final payment, the branch demanded 120 euros for a zero-debt certificate. Free by law, but 'if it slips through, so much the better'. He had to turn to the customer ombudsman before the bank backed down. The story illustrates a constant in traditional banking: the fine print always works against you.

When comparing ING with Abanca, the first difference that jumps out is fees. ING charges no maintenance fee if you have your salary paid in or hold another product; Abanca, on the other hand, has earned itself a fruta for charging 'for breathing'. Anyone who has tried both sums it up bluntly: 'ING is light years ahead of Abanca'. Yet online banking is not the paradise its ads promise.

Account freezes: a shared antiestéticar

The rumour that ING freezes accounts without warning spreads like wildfire. Those who have experienced it describe a Kafkaesque process: transfers held up, money immobilised and a customer service team that offers no solution until the Banco de España (Spain's central bank) steps in. But it is not a problem unique to ING. Openbank, Santander's online arm, has also been reported for freezing funds over movements as innocuous as transferring 900 euros between your own accounts. 'You can't imagine the grilling they gave me,' says one affected customer, who only got his money back after the Banco de España intervened.

The paradox is that while some flee traditional banking because of its fees, others find that digital agility comes at the price of tight control over every transaction. The dilemma is not new, but it is worsening as anti-money-laundering policies tighten.

The price of convenience

Abanca tries to seduce customers with aggressive campaigns: up to 500 euros for having your salary paid in and zero fees on its 'Cuenta Nómina' (salary account). However, anyone who has already had a mortgage with them knows that every extra transaction (cancellations, certificates) can become a source of unexpected charges. ING, for its part, keeps its flagship product fee-free for salary accounts and offers online loans within 24 hours, but cash handling is a weak point: depositing money at an ATM is a pain, and antiestéticar of account freezes discourages many from using it as their main bank.

The provisional conclusion: there is no perfect bank. For day-to-day operations without cash, ING remains the low-cost option. If you need a branch and complex paperwork, Abanca may do, but keep an eye on the fine print and claim every right you have. And if you opt for an online bank like Openbank, be prepared to justify every last cent. In the end, distrust is the only common denominator.