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No bank has ever charged me to hold my money. I'm 64 and lived the first half of my life in England and since then in Norway. The only charges I have ever pai
by kwhitefoot 6y ago
No bank has ever charged me to hold my money. I'm 64 and lived the first half of my life in England and since then in Norway.
The only charges I have ever paid were for borrowing money.
Is it that the UK and Norway are unusual in not charging or is it the US that is unusual in charging?
- franga2000 6y agoI can add 3 EU countries I'm familiar with to the list of places where banks charge a fee for running an account. It's usually pretty low and waived for many groups (students, elderly, unemployed...), but still there. A non-trivial amout of course also comes from various service fees like ATM withdrawals, e-banking, various reports, etc., which is where I assume your bank makes its money.
- kwhitefoot 6y agoMy banks don't charge for any of those things either (Santander in the UK, SBanken in Norway). Santander does charge for unexpectedly going into the red I believe but SBanken just charges you interest on overdrafts up to 5000 NOK/ 500 EU). SBanken also makes a little money managing the little I have invested in funds. Santander is making money out of me because I am resident in Norway it doesn't pay interest unless you are resident in the UK
- jgeada 6y agoMost banks in the US either charge a fee, or waive it if you have enough money in your account(s). That too is a fee, as the interest they pay on your money is many basis points lower than the interest they charge for lending your money to someone else. In my opinion, anybody that thinks they have a bank account "for free" doesn't know how to read financial statements. Banks are not charities.