From August, banks in Macedonia are introducing significant fee hikes - and the heaviest burden, as usual, falls on those who can least bear it: pensioners and families. A pensioner who pays bills at the counter will pay up to 100 euros a year in fees alone, and a four-person family at least 200 to 250 euros.

The biggest percentage increase hits exactly where it hurts - on paying bills at the counter. The fee jumps by over 33 percent, from 90 to 120 denars per transaction. A pensioner who pays four monthly bills (electricity, water, phone, internet) will pay around 480 denars more a month just for that. Add in the account-maintenance charge, and the annual cost tops 6,000 denars - over a fifth of the average pension, which in 2026 stands at around 27,500 denars.

The list doesn't stop there. New SWIFT fees for international transfers, a one-off fee of 1 to 1.5 percent on subsidised housing loans (from 600 to over 1,200 euros, depending on the amount), fees of up to 0.4 percent on foreign-currency payments. A systematic squeezing of every transaction - the very thing they otherwise call a „service.”

The governor of the National Bank, Trajko Slaveski, said he was „unpleasantly surprised” by these decisions and that they run counter to efforts to promote affordable digital payments. But the governor's surprise doesn't help pensioners much. The National Bank admits it has no direct legal authority to regulate the level of fees - which means the banks can, and the citizens pay. When the regulator „raises the alarm” instead of regulating, who exactly is protecting the people at the counter?