Bank of Lithuania
2017-08-01
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A representative public survey revealed that limiting the price of basic payment services allowed most residents who chose the new alternative – payment services baskets – to now pay less to banks or credit unions. This was indicated by half of respondents who had chosen new payment plans. A smaller share claimed that their payment services expenditure did not change.

‘Public opinion shows us the result that we were aiming for – the price of payment services is becoming more accessible. This year, after the limited-price services basket came into effect, credit institutions were encouraged to offer consumers even more favourable alternatives, while for certain target groups, e.g. seniors and youth, big discounts were applied or the package of basic payment services was offered completely free of charge,’ such changes were named by Jūratė Butkutė, Chief Economist of the Market Infrastructure Policy Division at the Bank of Lithuania.

Having chosen a services basket, in many cases consumers can perform unlimited electronic transfers, up to a certain amount they do not pay for each cash withdrawal from an ATM, they receive a payment card and means to login to online banking. With the emergence of services baskets, such faulty practices as fees for each incoming payment were eliminated.

According to Ms Butkutė, these changes are the main reason for favourable assessment of the changed pricing. The resident survey’s data show that a larger share – 49 per cent – of bank customers who chose the services basket claim that they now pay less for payment services then before, while 28 per cent indicated that the price of services remained unchanged, 6 per cent claimed that they spend more for payments.

Nearly 90 per cent of respondents indicated that over a month they pay less than or exactly EUR 1.5 for the services basket, while 6 per cent answered that they pay more.

Although services baskets expanded the range of customer choices, some residents view these innovations with caution. The public survey revealed that nearly half (46%) of bank or credit union customers chose one or another services basket, while 37 per cent did not change their previous pricing, when the account management fee is paid and the standard fee for each transaction is applied.

As of 1 February 2017, banks and credit unions have to provide their customers with the possibility to get all basic payment services for a monthly fee not exceeding EUR 1.5 (for low-income residents – EUR 0.75). More information about the basic payment account services basket is available here

Banks, taking into account customer needs, can, at their own discretion, additionally propose other plans. A comparison of the payment services basket fees is available on the Bank of Lithuania website.

Consumers can freely choose whether to use the basic payment account services basket, other payment account services baskets offered by payment services providers, or use the services by paying a standard fee for each transaction separately. The Law on Payments provide that the composition and price of the basic payment account services basket is set and, when necessary, reviewed by the Bank of Lithuania.

In May–June 2017, on behalf of the Bank of Lithuania, the market and public opinion survey company Baltijos tyrimai conducted a survey of Lithuanian residents. In total, 1,015 residents throughout Lithuania were surveyed.