Master your bank before it masters you with fees

In 5 min you'll know: which bank fees you can legally avoid and how to switch to the minimum-services package

You've already cut the invisible leaks (B1-L04). But there's one leak almost nobody counts: bank fees. The rule for this lesson: know what the essential banking services are in Portugal and make sure you're not paying for what the law says should be free or cheap.

Before you continue: in your budget, how much do you spend monthly on bank fees — and did you know there's a legal cap on minimum banking services?

(Answer in the next paragraph.)

The current account is the centre of everything. You receive your salary, pay rent, manage daily transactions. But the bank charges for almost everything: account maintenance (between €3 and €8/month), debit card (some banks charge €1–€4/year), intra-bank transfers (usually free) and interbank transfers (can cost €0.50–€3), and withdrawals at other banks' ATMs (€0.60–€4 per transaction). If you've never checked your bank's fees, it's almost certain you're paying more than you need to.

In Portugal, the BdP (Banco de Portugal — central bank) defines the "minimum banking services" — a package that every bank is required to offer. It includes: a current account, a debit card, home banking access, direct debit and 20 payment transactions per month. The maximum cost is approximately €4.57/month (updated annually). If your bank didn't offer you this option when you opened the account, it wasn't by accident — it's the least profitable package for them.

The trick: compare what you pay in monthly fees with the minimum banking services. If you're paying more than €5/month, you can request the switch to the minimum banking services package at any time. You need your NIF (Portuguese tax-ID number) and proof of address. And if you have fee receipts, you can register them on eFatura (the official tax-invoice tracking portal) — some are deductible on your IRS (Portugal's personal income tax).

See how much you save with minimum banking (60 seconds) →

Your promise: This week, Saturday at 11am, I will list every bank fee I paid in the last 3 months and calculate the annual cost.