Banks charge between €3 to €5 for operations, such as for money withdrawal or transfers, done in branches.

The ULC argued on Wednesday 26 October that especially older people, who are not familiar with the internet, are unduly affected by these charges. Nico Hoffmann, chair of the ULC, has asked that these people should either be able to do their banking operations for free or at reduced cost.

A public petition to abolish or reduce bank charges gathered almost 10,000 signatures earlier this year.

Finance minister Pierre Gramegna was also present at the parliamentary hearing. He said that he would meet banks to see what they could do for people who are not familiar with the internet or who have mobility problems. However, he warned that not everything would be for free: “this government considers that it should impose anything on banks. But we can encourage them” to consider the issue.

He also suggested mobile bank branches, which could go from village to village, which might compensate the closing of some local branches.