Banco Falabella Launches a Zero-Fee Online Account in Chile
Digital Banking
Key Facts
—The account. Banco Falabella is promoting a current account with zero monthly maintenance, opened entirely online.
—The August promotion. Accounts opened this month get permanent $0 maintenance with no conditions attached.
—Standard pricing. Outside the promotion, zero fees normally require meeting conditions like a salary deposit or eight debit purchases monthly.
—The fallback charge. Without meeting conditions, the standard monthly fee is around 0.32 UF.
—Digital opening. The process uses the bank’s website or app with digital identity verification and approval steps.
Banco Falabella has launched a zero-fee online account in Chile, letting new customers open a current account entirely through a website or app and, for those who sign up in August, lock in $0 monthly maintenance permanently with no strings attached.
What the zero-fee online account actually offers
Banco Falabella is calling the product a “Costo $0” current account, meaning the bank charges nothing to keep it open each month. The account comes with a debit card and full digital access through the bank’s mobile app and web platform.
The headline draw is the August promotion. New accounts opened during this window get permanent zero maintenance with no conditions — no minimum balance, no required number of purchases, and no salary deposit mandate.
That unconditional promise sets it apart from the standard pricing structure, which normally ties the $0 fee to meeting at least one monthly requirement.
How the online opening works
The entire process happens without visiting a branch. A customer starts on the Banco Falabella website or downloads the app, enters personal data, and completes a digital identity verification step.
The bank then reviews the application and activates the account. The flow mirrors what Chilean fintechs and digital-first banks have normalised over the past few years — quick, remote, and designed for a smartphone screen.
For expats and professionals relocating to Chile, this removes a common friction point. Opening a local bank account has traditionally meant queuing at a branch with a stack of paperwork, a hurdle the digital process sidesteps entirely.
The fine print: what happens after the promotion
Outside the August promotional window, the account’s zero-fee status becomes conditional. To avoid a monthly charge, a customer must meet at least one requirement each month.
Those conditions include receiving a salary deposit into the account, making at least eight debit-card purchases, depositing at least CLP $500,000, or qualifying for the bank’s Elite tier. If none of those boxes are ticked, the standard monthly maintenance fee is around 0.32 UF.
The Unidad de Fomento (UF) is Chile’s inflation-indexed unit, and 0.32 UF currently sits at roughly CLP $11,800 (about US$12.50). That is modest by regional standards but worth knowing for anyone signing up after August ends.
Why a zero-fee online account matters in Chile right now
Chile’s banking market has grown crowded. Traditional players like Banco de Chile and Santander now compete with digital challengers such as Tenpo, Mach, and the state-backed BancoEstado CuentaRUT, all pushing low-cost or no-cost offerings.
Banco Falabella’s move is a direct play for market share in that environment. The bank is part of the Falabella retail group, one of Latin America’s largest department-store and shopping-mall operators, giving it a built-in customer base of millions of credit-card holders across the region.
For the group, converting retail shoppers into current-account customers deepens the relationship and generates data, lending opportunities, and stickier revenue over time. The zero-fee account is the entry point.
What it means for investors and the broader Latin America read-through
Falabella has been restructuring its financial-services arm after a difficult period of write-downs and management changes. The push into simple, digital-first banking products signals a leaner strategy focused on customer acquisition cost and lifetime value rather than branch-heavy expansion.
Across Latin America, the same pattern is playing out. Retail-anchored banks — from Mexico’s Coppel to Brazil’s Magazine Luiza with its digital wallet — are using zero-fee accounts to pull consumers into their ecosystems, betting that lending, insurance, and merchant fees will follow.
Chile remains one of the region’s most stable and banked markets, making it a useful testing ground. If the zero-fee online account gains traction here, expect similar launches in Falabella’s other markets, including Peru and Colombia.
What to watch next
The key date is the end of August, when the unconditional promotion closes. After that, new sign-ups will face the standard conditional pricing, and the bank’s ability to retain promotional-period customers will become the real test.
Also worth monitoring is whether competitors respond. BancoEstado has already been aggressive with its CuentaRUT product, and a price war in current accounts would benefit Chilean consumers and expats alike.
For anyone considering the account, the practical step is straightforward: open it in August, lock in the permanent zero-fee status, and avoid the conditional hoops entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open the Banco Falabella zero-fee account if I am a foreigner living in Chile?
The bank’s digital opening process requires identity verification, which typically means a Chilean national ID card (cédula de identidad). Foreign residents with a valid Chilean ID and RUT should be able to apply, though the bank does not explicitly detail foreigner-specific requirements in the promotional materials.
Check with the bank directly if you hold only a passport or temporary residency document.
What happens to the zero-fee status if I open the account in August but later stop using it?
The August promotion locks in permanent $0 maintenance with no conditions, meaning the fee should not appear even if the account sits idle. Standard accounts opened outside the promotion, however, would trigger the 0.32 UF monthly charge if none of the activity conditions are met.
Always confirm the terms directly with the bank before opening.
Is the Banco Falabella account the same as a CuentaRUT from BancoEstado?
They are similar in that both are low-cost current accounts aimed at broad adoption, but they differ in ownership and perks. BancoEstado’s CuentaRUT is a state-backed product with its own fee structure and wide merchant acceptance.
Banco Falabella’s account ties into the Falabella retail ecosystem, which may offer additional benefits for shoppers at Falabella stores, Sodimac, and Tottus across Chile and the region.
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