Fidor Bank has had problems for a long time. The direct bank has now officially announced that operations in Germany will be completely discontinued this year. What does this mean for customers?
It was already clear last year that the major French bank BPCE – owner of the Munich-based Fidor Bank – would like to liquidate the direct bank soon. The bank’s losses were too high. It is now certain: Fidor Bank will cease operations this year and will terminate all existing accounts at the same time.
Fidor Bank informs customers about closure
Fidor Bank informs its customers about current events on the website. Here it says that you want to stop banking this year. There is therefore no possibility of objection. The bank wants to contact customers promptly to initiate the process of closing the accounts. “Rest assured that you will have enough time to transfer your banking relationship to a new financial institution,” says Fidor Bank. So far, however, the financial institution has not given any details as to when the terminations will take place.
Until then, customers can use their account as usual. From the time of termination, however, all online banking functions will be deactivated. Accordingly, transfers, standing orders and direct debit orders will no longer be carried out and all money cards issued will become invalid. Customers will no longer have access to their online accounts. You should therefore download and save all important documents in good time. However, you will receive the tax certificate as usual from Fidor Bank.
In order to make the switch to a new bank as easy and stress-free as possible, it makes sense for customers to start looking for a new bank now in view of the imminent termination of all business relationships.
What happens to savings bonds and the overdraft facility?
As Fidor Bank emphasizes, it is still solvent and deposits are protected under the statutory deposit insurance. If customers have a savings or capital letter with the bank, the bank will write them separately to explain the early repayment modalities.
At the same time, customers must ensure that they have to settle any negative overdraft facility at the latest when the account is closed. It is not possible to pay in installments or defer payment.
Also read: Erste Bank dispenses with cash – will others follow?
Why is Fidor Bank ceasing operations?
Fidor Bank started back in 2009 as an alternative to other direct banks such as N26. In 2016, the major French bank BPCE took over the Germany-based direct bank for around 100 million euros. For BPCE it was an opportunity to expand retail banking in the European market, for Fidor Bank the acquisition was an opportunity to grow abroad. But in the end things turned out differently. Just a few years after the purchase, Fidor Bank made losses in the millions, which BPCE had to compensate for. The major French bank was therefore already considering selling it in 2018. A period of tough negotiations followed, most recently in 2022 the sale of the private and corporate customer business to the US financial investor Ripplewood apparently failed. Neither party wanted to comment on the proceedings.
The BPCE therefore announced that it would liquidate Fidor Bank by mid-2024 at the latest. The decision affects several thousand customers. Their number has dropped significantly in recent years. It is unclear how high the number of customers at Fidor Bank is at the moment. It is speculated that there are 150,000 to 200,000 customers – a decrease of almost 100 percent compared to 2020.