Nearly one in four French people has an account with an online bank. This figure is increasing every year, driven by lower fees and fully digital management. However, the online banking landscape is evolving under new constraints: strengthened European regulations, a gradual questioning of free services, and rising security requirements. Distinguishing between marketing promises and the reality of offers requires looking beyond the displayed pricing grids.
European Regulation DORA and PSD3: What Changes for Online Banks
The regulatory framework surrounding online banks has been tightening significantly since 2024. The European regulation DORA on digital operational resilience imposes enhanced obligations on online institutions regarding IT risk management, supervision of cloud subcontractors, and business continuity plans. These requirements, the full application of which is expected in 2025, apply to both historical online banks and neobanks.
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At the same time, the upcoming PSD3 directive and the PSR regulation, presented by the European Commission in 2023, will more strictly regulate strong authentication and the fight against fraud. For users, this means more identity checks and security verifications during online payments or logins to the banking app.
These regulatory constraints come at a cost. Institutions must invest in their infrastructures, recruit specialized cybersecurity profiles, and adapt their systems. Field reports vary on the actual impact for the end customer, but regulatory pressure weighs on the free business model.
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Finding banking information on Gagnez Net allows you to follow these regulatory developments and their concrete translation into the offers available in France.
Online Banking Fees: The End of Free Services
Several observatories and consumer associations have noted since 2023-2024 a trend of rising fees in everyday banking, including among online players. Services that were previously free are becoming paid: physical cards, withdrawals outside the euro zone, payment incidents, inactive accounts.
The price gaps are narrowing between online banks and traditional banks, especially for profiles that do not match the “ideal” customer (high income, regular card use). A customer with modest income or occasional use of their bank card no longer systematically benefits from a significant pricing advantage compared to a network bank.
Conditional Free Banking Card
The free banking card, often highlighted in advertisements, is frequently subject to conditions: minimum income amount, number of monthly payments, or initial deposit when opening the account. Failing to meet these conditions results in a monthly charge that can reach several euros.
Before comparing offers, three concrete points must be checked:
- The minimum income required to access the free card, which varies significantly from one institution to another
- The fees applied in case of account inactivity or absence of card transactions over a quarter
- The actual cost of withdrawals and payments abroad, often underestimated by customers who travel occasionally
Online Banking and Payment Security: Beyond Commercial Discourse
Online banking fraud remains a topic underdocumented by the institutions themselves. Scams involving fake banking advisors, fake couriers, or phishing are multiplying and specifically target customers of digital banks, whose interactions occur exclusively through digital channels.
The absence of a physical branch complicates the resolution of certain disputes. When a customer falls victim to fraud, the dispute process goes through an online form or chat, with processing times varying by institution. The available data does not allow for a conclusion that an online bank handles these cases faster or better than a traditional bank.
Strong Authentication and Usage Frictions
The strengthening of strong authentication (double verification via SMS, biometrics, or dedicated app) improves payment security. However, it generates usage frictions that online banks must absorb without degrading the customer experience, which is their main differentiating argument.
The most mature institutions in this area integrate biometrics directly into their app, which limits the number of steps to validate a payment. Others still require switching to a third-party app or an SMS code, which lengthens the process and leads to transaction abandonment.
Online Banking Service Offer: Credit, Savings, and Investment Products
Online banks have gradually expanded their catalog beyond current accounts and banking cards. Mortgage loans, consumer credit, life insurance, stock market products: the offer is approaching that of a traditional network bank, though it does not fully cover it.
For mortgage loans, online banks offer competitive rates but with sometimes more restrictive eligibility conditions. The processing of the application, fully digital, suits autonomous borrowers. However, it can pose problems for atypical profiles (self-employed, irregular income) who benefit more from an in-branch exchange.
Savings remain a strong point: regulated savings accounts available, life insurance with management fees generally lower than those of traditional networks, and access to various investment supports. Reduced management fees on life insurance represent a measurable advantage for long-term savers.
The online banking market continues to structure itself under the dual pressure of European regulation and pricing competition. The choice of an institution depends less on the promise of free services than on the alignment between the customer’s profile (income, card usage, credit or savings needs) and the actual conditions of the subscribed offer. Reading the general conditions remains the most profitable reflex before opening any account.