Over a period of one year, from April 2021 to April 2022, prices in overseas France rose, sometimes sharply. The Issuing Institute for the Overseas Departments and Collectivities analyzes the weighted average rates of banking organizations every six months, and the results earlier in the year confirm this observation. Over the course of a year, in Guadeloupe and Martinique, 8 of the 14 services analyzed have increased and the trend is fairly similar in all areas with 11 of the 17 indicators observed.
Higher fees in West Indies
The largest figure is for account maintenance fees, +4.4 overall in overseas France and around 3% up in the West Indies, adding to an already significant disparity.
At an average of 5 to 6 euros more than in France, Guadeloupe and Martinique are the areas where it is most expensive to put money in the bank. With 9 and 8 tariffs in operation at national level out of the 14 considered, our islands are also the most affected by these increases for all the services analyzed. In particular, remote banking solutions with Internet or mobile management offerings have skyrocketed. They were multiplied by almost 3 in Martinique and by 10 in Guadeloupe.
It should be noted that none of the bank fees are reduced, but that occasional SEPA transfers in the euro area via the internet, the cost of setting up a direct debit and the cost per payment of a direct debit remain free in all overseas departments and euro area entities.