Unknown tribute: banks massively connect paid services to customers
Russians are faced with massive hidden connections of paid card services, Izvestia found out. At the end of April, clients of Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank, Ak Bars Bank and other major players began actively complaining about write-offs for paid notifications or premium programs, to which they did not give direct consent. The market is trying to make extra money on hidden fees in the context of a slowdown in lending and, in fact, cashing in on the inattention of Russians. How to protect yourself from unexpected expenses — in the Izvestia article.
What services can the bank impose
In the last month, Russian bank customers have been massively confronted with the problem of hidden connections for paid services and notifications. Izvestia analyzed dozens of reviews from Russians in the "People's Rating" of banks from <url>, most of which were published at the end of April. Users of the resource complain about the unscrupulous behavior of credit institutions, opaque information in contracts and attempts to cash in on the inattention of customers.
Most of the complaints about Alfa-Bank follow from the reviews on <url>. They say that the organization, without the consent of customers, begins to charge a commission for paid notifications in the amount of 99 rubles per month for debit or 159 for credit cards.
The bank shifts responsibility for the consequences onto the client. In responding to complaints, representatives of Alfa—Bank and Sovcombank often point to notifications of new services in the form of SMS or push messages. However, most users simply do not notice them.
This practice is especially unfair to customers who, due to their age, are unable to track the problem on their own in time and notice new card charges. In one case, due to notification fees, an elderly woman's balance sheet accumulated a debt of more than 8 thousand rubles. Nevertheless, after the relatives complained, Alfa-Bank returned the written-off funds to her.
Gazprombank's clients in reviews of "Banks.<url>" complain that they are being connected to the "Plus" package for 299 rubles per month without consent. It includes, for example, card notifications along with other privileges. One of the users reported that the auto-renewal of this subscription did not stop even after several conversations with support.
Another customer complained that, along with his salary card, he was persuaded to issue a "free" bank credit card, for which a commission of 3,490 rubles was later charged. At the same time, representatives of Gazprombank, communicating with clients on the <url> resource, regularly pay attention to the fact that they act exclusively in accordance with the agreement.
Ak Bars Bank also received several complaints about incorrect debiting of commissions on the website. For example, the client was charged for a package of privileges, although an employee of the organization assured during registration that there were no paid services for the original product.
The PSB client also complained about an unexpected charge even after disabling paid notifications — it turned out that for this it was necessary to go to a separate, "hidden" section of the application, follows from the messages of the Russians. At Credit Europe Bank, the client was explicitly told that they would not give him a loan without agreeing to a paid service. And the Sovcombank card user's subscription "appeared on its own", but this happened after the transfer of the card portfolio from Home Bank. Then, according to the citizen, the write-offs began without the user's knowledge.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the mentioned banks about such practices, but most of them did not respond. Sovcombank clarified that all notifications on the Halva installment card are free, but the review referred to a different type of "plastic."
The Bank of Russia considers hiding information about the connection of paid services to be an unacceptable practice, the regulator's press service told Izvestia. Nevertheless, the Central Bank does not record an increase in the number of complaints from citizens about such situations.
How banks secretly connect paid services
In the context of a slowdown in lending, banks are looking for ways to support business profitability through hidden fees and take advantage of customers' inattention, explained Ivan Uklein, Senior Director for Bank Ratings at Expert RA agency.
The portfolio of loans to individuals in 2025 is gradually decreasing, according to the Central Bank. Due to the high interest rate of 21%, demand for loans is limited. According to Izvestia, real interest rates on cash loans can reach 40% — this level is actually a barrier.
As a result, players use all the opportunities to make money, and connecting paid services is very effective, added economist Alexey Krichevsky.
Most clients simply do not notice the preset check marks in the contracts about consent to receive paid additional services, and also do not know about their right to exclude such items from the document in principle, Ivan Uklein added. But it is there that provisions are hidden that allow the bank to connect the same paid notifications and increase their cost without the explicit consent of a person.
In general, paid notifications about card debits are a normal practice, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Credit institutions enter into contracts with telecom operators and pay them for the provision of such services, which are becoming more expensive from year to year, which is also why they seek to pass on some of the costs to customers.
At the same time, monthly write-offs are not so large that they are immediately noticed, said economist Andrei Barkhota.
Are hidden card charges legal?
—The largest banks have a large staff of lawyers who rarely commit direct violations in documents," said Ivan Uklein from Expert RA.
Nevertheless, hidden connections of paid services severely infringe on the rights of customers and directly violate the law "On Consumer Credit," explained Evgenia Lazareva, head of the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights project. According to her, the imposition of additional paid services is the most frequent abuse of banks.
— Many borrowers are surprised to learn about the connected additional services, among which, in addition to useless anti-fraud insurance, there are SMS messages, special terms of service, telemedicine, and even astrologer services, — said Evgenia Lazareva.
For the imposition of additional financial services, banks can receive fines of up to 300 thousand rubles, said Special Adviser KA Pen & Paper by Svyatoslav Orlov. This amount is not comparable with the possible benefits from unfair actions, Expert RA added.
How to solve the problem of hidden charges
The law explicitly prohibits banks from marking the customer's consent to purchase additional paid services in advance, the Central Bank said.
Banks are required to give the opportunity to opt out of their paid services when registering other products, as well as clearly and transparently display information about all additional conditions and important factors in contracts, Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global emphasized.
— Protection can be simple: you need to read the contract and not get lost if some of its points do not suit the person. The client has the right to request their removal from the document," said economist Alexey Krichevsky.
Also, after completing the product, you can call the bank and notify it by appointment about the cancellation of any paid additional services, the expert added. If it comes to proceedings, the recording of the conversation will be an important argument for the court.
It is also important to send complaints about the situation to the Central Bank, Rospotrebnadzor and the Financial Ombudsman service of the Russian Federation, said Evgenia Lazareva from the project "For the Rights of Borrowers". Minimal evidence is required to confirm a violation.: copies of documents, photographs, screenshots of correspondence with the support service, audio and video recordings.
In addition, the financial authorities may be more actively influencing the situation. For example, an increase in fines for violations of borrowers' rights can make any unfair practices simply unprofitable, Expert RA noted.
In addition, the situation should improve significantly in 2025. The Central Bank recalled that from September 1, new provisions of the law on consumer protection will come into effect, which will explicitly prohibit the imposition of any goods and services for a fee. No later than the fourth quarter, banks are required to restructure internal processes and stop marking the purchase of additional services in advance and obtain explicit consent from the client.
"The Bank of Russia will monitor whether financial institutions adhere to these recommendations," the regulator's press service warned.
The introduction of a single standard for banking applications can also solve the problem, Evgenia Lazareva concluded. Customers perform most of their actions through smartphones, so it is important to legislate the requirements for banking utilities. Mandatory functions should make it possible to confirm informed consent with the services provided, as well as save logs and correspondence with the support service in case of disputes.
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