The BBVA Fee Nobody Talks About: 0.60 Euros Per Transaction

Most people know about monthly maintenance fees. The ones that show up on comparison websites. The ones banks advertise as "free if you meet conditions."

But if you have a BBVA account in Spain, there's a fee that flies completely under the radar: 0.60 euros for every single entry on your account.

BBVA is one of Spain's largest banks. And unlike most banks that charge a flat monthly fee, BBVA's "Cuenta Eleccion" has this per-transaction charge.

Every direct debit. Every salary payment. Every transfer you receive. Each one costs you 60 cents.

Most BBVA customers have absolutely no idea this fee even exists.

The hidden double charge

Here's what catches people off guard: this "administration fee" is completely separate from the maintenance fee.

The two fees appear as different line items on your statement. Most people never connect the dots.

Let's do the math together

Think about your own account. How many entries do you typically have each month?

A typical BBVA customer might see:

Just like that, you're looking at 6 euros per month in administration fees alone. Over a year, that quietly adds up to 72 euros.

If you don't qualify for the maintenance fee exemptions, BBVA also charges 160 euros per year. Combined: over 230 euros annually just to have a bank account.

Who gets hit the hardest?

The per-entry fee structure means that the more active your account is, the more you pay. This creates an almost ironic situation where the customers who use their accounts most actively end up subsidizing everyone else.

Freelancers and self-employed workers often get hit particularly hard. If you receive payments from multiple clients each month, every single incoming transfer costs you 60 cents.

Someone with 15 client payments per month is paying 9 euros just to receive their income.

People with lots of subscriptions also feel the pain. Netflix, Spotify, gym membership, cloud storage... each one generates a direct debit entry, and each one costs 60 cents.

There's a free alternative

BBVA actually offers an account with no maintenance fee and no administration fee. It's called the Cuenta Online sin Comisiones.

So why doesn't everyone just switch?

Because BBVA makes it inconvenient:

• You can't simply convert your existing account
• You have to close your current account and open a new one
• You need to update all your direct debits
• You need to change your salary deposit details

For most people, this feels like too much hassle. Which is exactly what the bank is counting on.

How to find out what you're actually paying

Go through your last few bank statements and look for entries labeled "comision administracion" or similar.

Count how many transaction entries you had that month and multiply by 0.60 to see what you should have been charged. Then add up any maintenance fees.

The total might surprise you.

Or connect your account to Banknaked and we'll automatically identify every fee, calculate your true cost, and show you exactly how much you could save by switching.

Hidden fees work because they're hidden. We make them visible.

Sources:
- BBVA Official Tariffs PDF
- BBVA Cuenta Eleccion