mBank raises prices. Still free for Ukrainians (update)

At the end of January this year mBank announced changes to its price lists. Some of them will come into force just after the upcoming holidays, April 3, 2024. Bank customers should count with higher feesthe introduction of which mBank explains significant increase in prices of goods and services.

The most important changes that mBank will introduce on April 3:

• exclusion of Euronet and Santander Bank Polska ATMs from the mBank ATM network (except for devices in bank branches); PlanetCash devices remain in the mBank network, including almost 5,000 ATMs in branches – you can withdraw up to PLN 4,000 from them at a time,
• introducing a single fee of PLN 5 for withdrawals at ATMs outside the mBank network, i.e.:
  • such a fee will be introduced for personal eKonto and eKonto dla Młodych (contracts from September 26, 2013),
  • for other accounts the amount will decrease from PLN 7 to PLN 5,
• for most customers – increasing the minimum free ATM withdrawal threshold from PLN 100 to PLN 300,
• for customers using mKonto Intensive – introduction of a threshold of PLN 300 for the minimum free ATM withdrawal,
• for customers using eKonto options 13-24 – introduction of a minimum withdrawal threshold of PLN 100 (such a fee will be charged only when the customer turns 18),
• increasing the fee for the withdrawal service from all ATMs from PLN 9 to PLN 18,
• increase in the monthly fee for a personal eKonto card from PLN 7 to PLN 10 (the condition for exemption from the fee will not change),
• increase in the monthly fee for the Mastercard Gold PayPass card from PLN 9.99 to PLN 18 (the conditions for exemption from the fee will not change),
• increasing the amount of inflows required by mBank in order not to charge a fee for mKonto Intensive from PLN 7,000 to PLN 10,000; the second condition will remain unchanged – the total sum of deposits and investments placed in the bank in the amount of at least PLN 100,000,
• introduction of a commission for withdrawals at the store's cash register (cashback) of PLN 2.

On April 4 this year mBank will introduce a fee for BLIK withdrawals at an ATM. It will be the same as when withdrawing cash using a card.

Pay raises not for everyone

As it turns out, The changes announced by mBank will not apply to all bank customerswhich led to allegations of unequal treatment of customers or even discrimination appearing online. The price increase does not apply to customers from Ukraine who came to Poland after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, i.e. from February 24, 2022. The Bankier.pl website indicates that the differences concern the personal eKonto and the UA personal eKonto.

mBank explains its decision regarding unequal treatment of customers the content of the recommendation issued two years ago by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.

These differences have legal reasons. In March 2022, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority issued a recommendation on banking services for refugees from Ukraine. It follows from this that no fees will be charged for accounts for this group of customers.

– wrote Emilia Kasperczak, media relations expert at mBank

Update:

We received a more extensive comment from mBank regarding the problem described above:

Accounts for Ukrainian citizens are maintained on principles similar to those on which we offer Basic Payment Accounts. The Basic Payment Account (introduced by the EU) provides free access to basic banking services, including deposits and withdrawals, transfers and card payments. This account does not provide access to many other services offered by the bank. In accordance with the law (the issue of PRP is regulated by the Act of November 30, 2016 amending the Act on Payment Services and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1997)), these accounts are kept free of charge. Their main goal is to fight financial exclusion. It can be set up free of charge by any European Union citizen. Under the Act, Ukrainian citizens have the right to legally reside in Poland and therefore can open accounts operated on principles similar to PRP. These are only basic accounts, with a limited range of services. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority's recommendation of March 2022, which was aimed at supporting refugees from Ukraine, also specified the scope of these accounts and that they would be free of charge.

On February 22, 2024, an amendment to the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens entered into force, extending to June 30, 2024 the deadline by which their stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland is considered legal. This affects the validity periods of account contracts for Ukrainian citizens. After this period, customers will receive offers to switch to the standard tariff. We comply with applicable laws and KNF announcements.