The increase in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB) in the summer of 2022 unleashed a kind of fever in the banking sector due to deposits and remunerated accountsproducts cornered for years.
But now that rates are trending downward againbanks are changing their strategy in attracting new customers by promoting other promotions, such as give cash in exchange for direct deposit of payroll, pensions or recurring income.
In this sense, in the current panorama, citizens who are willing to change their regular income They will now be able to obtain up to 400 euros immediately. BBVA, Banco Santander, ING, Unicaja or Abanca are some of the entities that offer or have offered this type of incentives to new customers in recent times.
The main novelty with respect to past times is that currently these offers are available even for modest salaries that start at 600 eurosan approach with which entities try to expand their niche of potential clients.
To get an idea of ​​how attractive the offer is, it should be noted that to obtain a return similar to those 400 euros it would be necessary invest 20,000 euros with an interest of 2% APR for one yearsomething that is complicated today, since half of Spanish households have 8,000 euros or less in the bank, according to the Bank of Spain’s Family Financial Survey.
“In this scenario, our recommendation is that clients follow the banks’ own rules of the game and lose the fear of changing entities to take advantage of all the advantages offered by the new promotions, with substantial gifts,” explains Olivia Feldman, partner and co-founder of the financial comparator HelpMyCash.
Feldman emphasizes that giving money away at once is more attractive to the customer than other savings and gift products. “A cash prize appeals to the emotions of the banking customer, it is, therefore, a very powerful marketing strategy, since the customer gets an immediate reward, unlike the six or twelve month wait associated with deposits or interest-bearing accounts, which is much more motivating than, for example, an electronic deviceand what is more important, it links a client who can contract other more profitable products in the long run,” he argues.
This expert assures that at this time “obtaining an ‘extra’ effortlessly is possible” because “There is no point in being loyal to a bank that offers nothing in return.” Besides, Changing banks is now easier than ever thanks to banking applications, which even allow you to change receipts.
However, Feldman emphasizes that in the direct debit of the payroll or pension there are red lines, such as a long period of stay or making purchases with the credit card for a certain amount. “The most important thing is that it does not charge any commission neither maintenance nor administration of the account”, sentence.
“It’s an opportunity to take control of your finances and benefit from offers that, in essence, give away money. In this context, a change of bank could mean joining the new era of banking, where each customer can become a real winner and in which the banking customer allows organize your finances and savings based on your interests and not what the bank requires,” he concludes.
The largest incentives
Santander. If you direct deposit a payroll or pension of at least 600 euros and two receipts or make at least one credit card transaction per month, you get 300 gross euros as a gift. In case of income of more than 2,500 euros, the reward is 400 euros. The stay is one year.
BBVA. Offered until November 28, 400 gross euros as a gift for opening a Payroll Account without commissions and direct debiting a payroll or pension of at least 800 euros. The stay is two years.
Sabadell. If you direct a payroll of at least 1,000 euros and activate Bizum, the Catalan company gives you 300 gross euros. One year stay.
Abanca. If your monthly recurring income is at least 1,200 euros you get 370 euros gross and if it reaches 800 euros you can get 185 euros gross. Two years of stay.
ING. The orange bank requests a payroll or pension of 700 euros per month for a gift of 200 gross euros. The minimum stay is three months.
Unicaja. The Andalusian entity offers 150 euros net if you domiciliate a payroll or pension of at least 800 euros and 400 euros net if it is equal to or greater than 2,000 euros. Two years of stay.