Increased fees at banks have been a big issue in Germany for several months. Due to a BGH ruling from April 2021, the institutes have had to explicitly obtain consent for higher prices for a few months – those who do not consent even after repeated inquiries are in many cases even taking a risk a cancellation of the account.
Like the “Handelsblatt” now reported, many Sparkasse branches in Germany are taking an unusual approach to obtaining customer consent. As a result, the bank’s customers can now also agree to the new terms and conditions directly at the ATM in the branches.
Sparkasse obtains approval via ATMs
The locations offering the new service include the savings banks in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Neither the German Savings Banks Association nor its IT service provider Finanz Informatik (FI) can say exactly how many branches also want to obtain approval via ATMs.
According to the report by the “Handelsblatt”, the cooperative banks have also been offering consent to the general terms and conditions on self-service devices, i.e. directly at the ATM, since last week.
In general, many banks currently have the problem that customers do not agree to the terms and conditions despite repeated notifications. “In the best case, it’s only about two or three percent of the customers, but for many banks it’s about more,” says Oliver Mihm, head of the consulting firm Investors Marketing.