The best online current accounts for Phase 2

A recent analysis of Italians' savings during the lockdown, conducted by Altroconsumo for Corriere della Sera Economia , highlights the significant increase in online current account usage in recent months. Staying at home due to quarantine has forced many Italians to overhaul their daily habits, effectively opening the internet to even those who weren't regular users. When it comes to everyday spending, the difficulties encountered by businesses have made it inevitable for a growing number of consumers to turn to e-commerce for daily purchases. This same pattern has been observed in the world of savings. Banks, as "shops" selling financial services rather than goods, have had to close their branches to focus on offering online current accounts. With the exponential increase in transactions, financial institutions have saved not only time, but also money. The survey aims to estimate the actual savings promised by online accounts compared to traditional competitors. Altroconsumo therefore weighed online current accounts offered by traditional banks on one side of the scale, and those exclusively online on the other. It found that the online version allows a pensioner to save approximately 32%, while the average benefit for a family is approximately 29%. Finally, significant savings were also seen for accounts dedicated to young people. To assess actual savings, the survey used the current account's ICC ( Annual Total Cost Indicator) , expressed in euros, applying the three basic account holder categories: Families with average spending, Pensioners, and Young People.

The Best Current Accounts for Families

For a family with average banking income , making an average of 228 transactions per year, the average ICC is €103.75 per year . In the traditional banking category, Crédit Agricole 's Easy Account stands out ( €72 per year) , followed by Banco Bpm and Credem accounts, all costing under €80. Not particularly economical are Intesa San Paolo's Xme , Unicredit's MyGenius , and Ubi Banca's QUBì , all costing well over €120 per year. For "pure" online current accounts, which do not require bank transfers, the overall annual costs drop to €22 per year, a saving of 85% compared to traditional accounts; Webank, N26, Iw Bank, and Widiba are among the leading providers, offering very competitive terms compared to the average.

The best current accounts for young people

For the Under 30 profile, the average ICC of an online account with a traditional bank is around €50 per year, assuming 164 transactions per year. Here too, Altroconsumo places Crédit Agricole ( Conto Easy Under 30 – €18.20/year) on the podium, followed by Intesa Sanpaolo at €21.90 ( XMe Under 35 , which drops to €44.90 if opened after June 30) and Ubi ( Qubì ) at €24.40. If we consider the accounts of online banks native to young people, the average ICC drops to less than €20; the ones that stand out are N26 (N26 Standard account – ICC €0), Banca Mediolanum (Mediolanum Young – ICC €5) and Widiba (Cnto Widiba – ICC €10).

The Best Current Accounts for Pensioners

Finally, the survey examines the pensioner category, with an average of 189 transactions per year. The reference ICC is €92.73 . In this segment, too, referring to traditional banks and their online current accounts, Crédit Agricole once again leads the way, with the Conto Easy at €52.49. Banco Bpm follows in second place at €64.95, and Credem in third place at €67.43. In pure web-based internet banking for pensioners, the winners are Webank, at zero euros, Iw Bank, at €1.90, and Banca Sistema, at €12.