“Free current account forever”: this was the promise of Widiba, the online bank of mps group. The offer, however, lasted only six years: from 2015 to 2021. Then the customers who had joined were charged costs, with lots of greetings to the "free current account forever". For this reason, theAntitrust has forced Widiba to reimburse all customers who have undergone this treatment.
Term deposits: Widiba's commitment
Not only that: the Authority has also requested commitments from the owners of the term deposits, to whom in May 2021 it was communicated that, in the event of withdrawal, the benefit of the extra remuneration offered by the contract would be lost. To those who have remained customers, therefore, Widiba will grant a new term of 30 days for withdrawal: if it is exercised, the Bank will recognise, "notwithstanding the provisions of the contract, the interest envisaged for the amounts restricted from the beginning of the restriction until the effective date of the withdrawal". law in the Antitrust bulletin. For customers who have already left, the online bank will instead communicate the "recalculation of accrued interest, recognizing the difference between the 'constrained' interest, accrued on the effective date of the withdrawal from the contract, and the 'ordinary' interest actually received".
The positive opinion of the Antitrust
L'Antitrust considers "that the commitments proposed" by Widiba "are suitable for remedying the profiles of possible illegitimacy of both commercial practices contested in the notice of initiation of the procedure". In particular, "the measures proposed by Widiba appear suitable, in addition to putting an end to the conduct subject of the proceeding, to remedy the effects of the same, being therefore characterized by a significant added value in terms of consumer protection".
