Can banks now charge a commission when consumers pay for housing and communal services?

Legislators have come to grips with the topic of abolishing bank commissions for payments for housing and communal services: a corresponding bill is being considered by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and the Russian Federation Decree No. 1164, which has entered into force, has introduced a ban on the inclusion of such remuneration in tariffs for utility services. We review the topic, legal regulations and the FAS letter on the legality of commissions when paying for housing and communal services.

How will the ban on commissions when paying for housing and communal services affect the work of management organizations and distribution organizations?
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Payment for services

There are no fees charged at all for some receipts. These include the following services.

1. There is no need to pay extra when you top up your or any other mobile phone number. This can be easily implemented either through Sberbank online, mobile banking or an ATM.
2. As for housing and communal services, whether the operation is paid or free depends on the relationships that have been established and the utility organizations with Sberbank. Payments can also be made in different modes (online, at the cash register or at the post office).
3. With regard to payment for television services, the same procedure applies as in the case of housing and communal services.
4. But for receipts for traffic police fines, the operator can charge from 2% to 3%, but if you issue the same through the terminal, the rate will drop to 1% - 2%.
5. All taxes are carried out by Sberbank free of charge, regardless of how it is implemented. Payments can be transferred using the previous method, as well as by downloading a special application on your mobile device. However, in addition to paying through the cash register, the tax can only be paid if the citizen is a client of Sberbank and has the appropriate card. When using the method through Sberbank-online, payment can be made free of charge or a commission of up to 1% will be charged. One way or another, it will not be higher than 500 rubles.

There is also an AutoPay app. It is used to pay for mobile communications and housing and communal services.

On a note

According to the already adopted RF PP No. 1164 and the draft law No. 905546-7 being considered by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, commissions when the population pays for housing and utility services will be:

1. Excluded from RSO tariffs, which will be approved after September 13, 2020.
2. Paid by all consumers, except for recipients of pensions and subsidies for housing and communal services, if a bank or other paying agent has established them.

Representatives of both the banking community and the housing and communal services sector opposed the general abolition of remuneration for payments for housing and communal services. Elena Shereshovets, Head of the Expert Council of the Association of Professional Real Estate Managers “P1”, also spoke about the negative consequences of such a decision. You can learn more from the issue of the online magazine “Housing and Public Utilities: Dreams Come True.”

Cash withdrawal

In addition to what commission the bank charges for paying various receipts, citizens are also interested in such a pressing issue as cash withdrawal. Not in all situations it is possible to pay using a plastic card. Therefore, sometimes there is a need to get cash from it, and you also need to know whether the operation is free or interest is charged for it.

However, answering this question is not so simple. There are many nuances that need to be taken into account. For example, one option is when they withdraw money from a Sberbank ATM using its own card, and a completely different one when the card belongs to one of the bank’s partners.

Many are still wondering whether it is really the banking organization that is now withdrawing additional money for this operation. This is true. However, in some cases the commission may not be charged.

Sberbank will take 3% for utility bills

Sberbank was deprived of its competitive advantages in the utility payments market. The Moscow government will not compensate banks for the commission for accepting payments from the population for housing and communal services. From May, when paying for utilities, Moscow Sberbank will charge 3% of the payment amount, which corresponds to average market tariffs. Banks expect an increase in payments through ATMs and the Internet. Moscow Sberbank, approximately from May 1, will begin charging a commission for transferring funds to pay for housing and communal services in the amount of 3% of the payment amount, an official representative of the bank told Vedomosti, citing a government decree according to which the commission to banks for paying for utility services must be paid by consumers, and not utility service providers. This government decision has been in effect since the beginning of this year, but the capital’s Sberbank has an agreement on commission compensation with the state institution “Engineering Services” in Moscow until May, the bank noted. The size of the commission will depend on the payment method: in the bank office it will be 3%, and through remote service channels - 1%.

According to estimates by the National Association of Electronic Commerce Participants (NAUET), the annual turnover of the market for accepting payments for housing and communal services exceeds 300 billion rubles. The largest player in this market is Sberbank. According to the bank's own estimates, its share averaged 30%, while depending on the region, the share could range from 12% to 63%.

Where is the lowest percentage?

As the Moscow government explained to Kommersant, the change in the procedure for charging commissions for paying for housing and communal services was introduced within the framework of the tariffs approved for this year. It was expected that they would grow by 26%, but the growth turned out to be less, but from the second quarter, the total amount of payment for services will increase by the previously planned amount of 26%, a representative of the Moscow government clarified.

Now you can pay for utility bills at almost any bank, however, a commission of 1-4% is charged for the payment. The lowest percentage is from Promsvyazbank and Uralsib Bank (1.5% and 1.7%, respectively), the highest is from VTB24 (4%), Rosbank and Bank of Moscow take an additional 3%. At the same time, a number of large banks (Rosbank, Promsvyazbank and Bank of Moscow) make payments through remote channels without commissions.

In addition to Sberbank, the Bank of Moscow also intends to review its tariffs by April 1. According to Vice President of the Bank of Moscow Andrei Lapko, commissions will be calculated based on the cost of the transaction for the bank and in terms of payments using remote channels, primarily the Internet, they may be minimal or even absent. At the same time, there are several ways to avoid paying a commission: go to a branch of Russian Post, which has an agreement with the Bank of Moscow, write a long-term payment order, use an ATM with a function for accepting payments or Internet banking, Vedomosti writes.

Will Sberbank suffer?

The absence of commissions when paying for utilities at Sberbank was its significant competitive advantage. Now some of the clients, who previously paid through Sberbank with virtually no alternative, will probably think about choosing a bank based both on the size of commission rates and other conditions, for example, the territorial proximity of the office, quality of service, convenience of payment via remote access, analysts believe, on which Kommersant refers. However, according to some experts, by reducing the share, the profitability of Sberbank’s operations may increase: after all, it’s one thing to have a queue of people paying for utilities, from each of whom Sberbank receives ten rubles, and another thing is clients who came for a loan that will bring the bank incomparably higher income.

However, Sberbank will not experience a significant outflow of clients, experts argue: only Sberbank branches are within walking distance, and a historical habit has been formed of paying for housing and communal services through Sberbank. Experts remind that unloading branches by transferring clients to remote service channels is one of Sberbank’s main priorities, approved by its development strategy until 2014.

Commission for a large amount

Basically, cardholders today do not even think about whether additional money will be withdrawn or not, especially if they have a debit card. When you receive money from a Sberbank card of the same name at an ATM, you usually do not charge interest. However, unfortunately, this has rather become an exception to the rule.

So, even from an ATM of the same name you will have to leave a commission when withdrawing a large amount of money. So, if you need to receive 300,000 rubles at once, then you pay an additional 0.5%. But here you also need to take into account the map itself. Depending on its “status,” the limit that can be received per day also varies. In simple options, if you exceed 150,000 rubles per month, a commission will also be charged.

The ban on bank commissions for certain groups of citizens is still being considered by the State Duma of the Russian Federation

The media today are increasingly discussing the news that the State Duma of the Russian Federation plans to adopt a bill in the autumn session that will prohibit banks and other paying agents from charging clients a commission when they pay for housing and communal services. Such a bill is indeed on the second reading, however, it involves the abolition of commissions on payments not for all citizens, but only for certain groups.

Initially, the authors of bill No. 905546-7 proposed introducing a ban on bank remuneration when paying for housing and communal services by all consumers. Later, it was clarified that such a moratorium would not apply to everyone:

“From citizens who are paid pensions in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as from citizens who receive subsidies to pay for housing and utilities in accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a bank payment agent (subagent) does not have the right to charge a commission for transferring payments for housing premises and utilities, penalties for late and (or) incomplete payment of payment for residential premises and utilities.”

Consequently, if the bill is adopted in this version, then consumers who are not pensioners or recipients of subsidies will still pay a commission, if any, established by a bank, post office or other paying agent.

Withdrawal from a credit card

Sometimes cash is obtained by charging a credit card. But in this case, the commission is charged regardless of the amount, and in any case. Many citizens have noticed that doing this is very unprofitable, since the costs end up being quite significant. At the terminals, 3% of the total amount of cash will be withdrawn, be it 3 thousand rubles or 300 thousand rubles. At the same time, there is a minimum commission, the amount of which is 390 rubles. Therefore, receiving small amounts is even more unprofitable.

Naturally, if an ATM belonging to another bank is used, the percentage will increase even more. As a rule, it will be 4%. But, just as in the previous case, there remains a minimum commission of 390 rubles. Therefore, it is more profitable to use a “native” ATM.

Why does the bank charge a commission?

In fact, paying utility bills is no different from a regular money transfer. And banks traditionally charge a commission for such transfers. Money for services goes to pay employees, related services, and for payment orders to the Central Bank. Among other things, the bank enters into contracts directly with organizations that provide electricity, water, heat, Internet, home services and much more, so that clients do not have to bother filling out details every time. Instead, you simply select the recipient, and the required payment amount is set in one click.

In some cases, company clients do not pay the commission, but this is not at all a matter of the bank’s generosity. It’s just that the agreement between him and the organization providing you with certain services states that the commission for transfers is paid by the organization itself, and not by its client. In other words, the bank always gets what it deserves, regardless of the situation.

This winter, a bill providing for the complete abolition of fees for utility bills was submitted to the government for consideration. At first it was proposed to cancel it for everyone, but a version reached the second reading in which only pensioners and beneficiaries were exempted from the commission. But the fate of this version is still in question. So you shouldn’t count on a quick abolition of utility fees in the near future, even against the backdrop of the abolition of fees from regular online money transfers.

Translation

Another operation that may be required is to transfer money from a Sberbank card to a card or account of another bank. This can be done through the terminal, on the Internet using the Sberbank service - online or directly at the branch. In this case, the operations that determine what commission Sberbank will charge may be as follows.

1. Payments in foreign currency or rubles.
2. Through account or in cash.
3. One of the ways is on the Internet, at an ATM or at a cash register.
4. In the city or outside it.
5. Your own or another person's account.
6. To the account of a legal entity with which Sberbank has or does not have agreements.

For transferred payments in rubles and relating to individuals, the commission may be as follows:

• An amount of no more than 30 thousand rubles is transferred from the card to the number, through online banking, the commission is 1.5%;
• from an account to another account it will be 2%, and if the operation is carried out through the Personal Account, then 1%;
• Sberbank charges a commission at different rates for cash transfers (1.75% through your card, 2% when sending a transfer to the card of another banking organization).

The amount also depends on other parameters. Therefore, if you are about to carry out some operation for the first time, you can contact the organization’s contact center. But in any case, the commission will be less than the one that will be charged when paying through the cash register.

How to pay a debt on a receipt

Each Sberbank client can use any of the proposed methods of paying bills:

• Through the operator
  . This is the simplest method that people who are far from computers and portable devices prefer to use. To pay the receipt, you need to visit the branch, take a coupon and go to the employee’s window in order of queue. You give the specialist the form and make payment in cash or by bank card. In return, the operator issues a check and change if payment was made in cash. The disadvantage of this method is the waste of time visiting the department and waiting in line.
• Via an ATM (terminal)
  . You can carry out a transaction in this way only through a bank card. The plastic must be inserted into the ATM, go to the bill payment department, open the “Utility Payments” tab, select the counterparty and read the barcode on the receipt through a special scanner.
• In the personal account of the Sberbank Online service
  . To download the site, you need a portable device or computer with Internet access. The owner of the account needs to log in to the system, go to the “Payments and Transfers” section, indicate the type of transaction, find the management company and verify the details. The next step is to select the card from which the money will be debited and enter the code received on the phone to confirm consent.
• Using an application for mobile devices
  . The functions of this small program are similar to the Sberbank Online service, so all actions for paying bills are similar.

Every citizen can close any account through an operator, but all other methods are available only to holders of Sberbank plastic cards. At the same time, non-cash payment of a receipt is cheaper than carrying out the transaction during a personal visit to the branch. The difference can reach 1-2% of the payment amount. . In order to pay for utilities and cellular operator services on the due date, you can use the auto payment service. You can connect this option through an application or online service absolutely free. If you want to save time, the remote method of paying for receipts is more profitable, since in this case the Sberbank commission is lower or absent altogether. You will be notified about current service rates in a particular region at the nearest bank office - hotline operators often do not have such information and will connect you to the same branch.

Sberbank Online

Internet banking is the most effective way to pay for any services. It also has minimal time losses. With this method of calculation, the commission will be only 1%. Convenience also lies in the ability to make purchases regardless of the time of day - day or night.

ATTENTION! To carry out the operation, all you need is a stable Internet connection and a device that can manage it. One of the prerequisites is registration in the system, but this also takes only a few minutes.

Paying for utilities online involves performing the following steps:

• Visiting your personal profile in Sberbank online, with a login and password.
• Go through the section with payments and transfers.
• Select the desired item. They are usually located at the bottom of the window.
• Choosing an organization that provides maintenance to residential premises.
• Enter the requested data.
• Making payments using current accounts.

Sberbank is also constantly improving its mobile application, which also allows you to transfer money to companies involved in home maintenance.

No commission

There are services for which payment without a commission is impossible, if we are talking about Sberbank systems. Therefore, it is recommended to look for several alternative solutions if additional savings are interesting. There are not so many options:

1. Public services. The organization still takes a commission for performing some actions. When using this portal, most activities do not involve additional fees.
2. Websites of the organizations themselves responsible for the service.
3. Official page of the mobile operator Beeline . But only the operator’s existing clients can count on no fees when paying for services. Therefore, you can look for the same services from other operators. Having a positive balance at least equal to the write-off amount is a prerequisite.
4. Sberbank mobile application. To pay, just read a special QR invoice. You can pay for services in cash only at the branch.