Spanish bank charges customer €4.87 to close his account

Closing an account isn't free: the proportional maintenance fee

Walking into your local branch to close a current account has become a trap. A customer goes to cancel his account after moving his salary to another bank, only to be told he must pay 4.87 euros. Staff can't explain what the charge is for. He returns the next day and gets a clearer answer: it's the proportional share of the annual maintenance fee. Six euros every six months. The account had a zero balance and no activity, but the bank won't let it go without charging.

Far from being an isolated anecdote, the episode exposes a practice described by several users in banking: charging fees for closure or for maintenance accrued up to the closing date. The question hanging in the air is whether such a fee is legal or whether each bank does as it pleases. The debate offers no specific regulatory answer.

How much do banks charge for closing an account?

Concrete cases keep piling up. At Banesto, a customer paid just over 4 euros to close his account, after being charged 4 euros a month in maintenance fees even though his salary was paid into it. He moved to another bank. A week later they called saying it had been a misunderstanding. He never went back. At Santander, another user recounts how his account was left at zero without formally closing it, and at the end of the year the maintenance fee was applied, multiplying until it generated a debt of 300 euros.

The pattern repeats: the account is left at zero, the bank doesn't close it, and fees quietly pile up. By the time the customer reacts, the debt is astronomical. The advice emerging from these cases is clear: always ask for a certificate confirming the account has been closed. Without that paper, the bank can keep generating charges.

The staff's side: it's not a closure fee

From inside the branches, the story gets some nuance. An employee at Caixa Tarragona explains that what is charged is not a closure fee, but the proportional share of maintenance up to the moment of closing. At his branch, if the account isn't used, the fee is charged, then refunded, month after month until the account is closed for inactivity. Before closing it, they call the customer to see whether they want to keep the account or cancel it for good.

Another banking employee argues that fees are the consideration for a service: keeping the money safe, guaranteeing its security and paying interest. "If it weren't a business, I'd have nothing to put on the table at the end of the month," he argues. Customers' response is swift: the bank doesn't hold your money as a favour, it uses it to invest, lend and make a profit. Charging on top of that for maintaining the account, especially when your salary is paid into it, is seen as an insult.

Is it legal to charge for closing a current account?

The debate cites no specific regulation banning closure fees. One participant recommends complaining to the bank's customer ombudsman. A branch manager is particularly annoyed at being called out for charging a few euros and losing a salary account. The fruta cost is greater than the fee.

The fee wars: customers leave and banks react

The underlying issue is a commercial war. Banks compete to attract salary accounts, and fees are the battlefield. Some claim that if they see you as an easy mark, on top of charging every fee possible, they'll sell you products with half-truths. Misinformation and the fine print are part of daily life.

Meanwhile, customers are organising: cancelling cards, insurance policies and accounts, and moving their salaries to fee-free banks. The threat of an exodus is real. Some banks react, others don't. The question remains: how long will it take them to understand that charging to close an account is the best way to lose a customer forever?