Bank of Valletta plc Reviews 

After it transpired that IKEA has problems accepting overseas Visa payments, I had to wait thirty days for the hold on my money to be released automatically.

When I had the same problem paying IKEA with a Revolut Visa card, Revolut's chatbot gave me more information on the situation than any of the four drones I dealt with at BOV, whether over the phone or by email. Revolut released the funds in a quarter of the time.

Their customer service is abysmal. They make you book appointments for the most basic changes to your account. The branches always have queues ten deep if you haven't booked an appointment, and when you do book one, it becomes clear that most of these services could be offered online and sorted instantly.

When I received a government cheque, I wanted to double-check that it would clear quickly, given that government cheques are as good as cash. The person I spoke with claimed it would take seven working days to clear. It cleared the morning after I deposited it.

They are hopeless. They have zero consistency of service. Thirty days to release a hold on my card? I even gave them proof that the transaction had been voided.

Their systems are antiquated - quite literally decades behind banks like Barclays. With Barclays, I could deposit a cheque online simply by taking a photo of it, a feature introduced years ago.

They are out of date and incompetent. I hugely regret taking out a pension plan with them and I might be moving it to a bank that understands how money works.

AVOID THEM!

Totally useless time wasters
I changed my phone and i had to go to the branch to update the app as their systems are not able to send a text message to validate the new mobile.
The 3d secure does not work either
What a pile of rubbish

I have been a loyal Bank of Valletta customer for over 20 years, and this has been, by far, the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

After becoming the victim of a scam, I turned to my bank expecting support, a proper investigation, and some understanding. Instead, I was made to feel that everything was my fault simply because the transaction was authenticated using 3D Secure. From the very beginning, the focus seemed to be on denying responsibility rather than helping a long-standing customer who had clearly been deceived.

What makes this even more disappointing is that the payment was for an unusually large amount and was sent to a foreign country—completely out of character compared with my normal banking activity. I would have expected the bank's fraud monitoring systems to identify this as unusual and at least trigger additional checks or contact me before the payment was processed. Instead, the transaction went through without any warning, yet afterwards I was told that because 3D Secure had been used, there was nothing they could do.

3D Secure is designed to verify that a payment is being authorized, but it does not protect customers from sophisticated scams where they are manipulated into approving a transaction. A bank that genuinely values its customers should recognize this distinction and investigate each case on its own merits rather than relying on a single authentication step to dismiss a claim.

After more than two decades of banking with Bank of Valletta, I feel completely let down. Loyalty appears to count for nothing when you need support the most. Rather than receiving empathy and assistance after being scammed, I was left feeling blamed, dismissed, and abandoned.

Based on my experience, I can no longer recommend Bank of Valletta to anyone looking for a bank that stands by its customers when fraud occurs.

If I could give zero stars, I would. Bank of Valletta is by far the most incompetent, time‑wasting, illogical bank I have ever dealt with.

Last year I asked them a simple question: “Can I get a car loan even if I don’t have an account with you yet?” They confidently told me yes, booked me an appointment, and made me go twice to their Birkirkara branch, wasting hours of my multiple of my working days. After all that, they suddenly changed the story and told me I would need to move my salary there and wait six months before even applying. Completely pointless. I opened an account for nothing and never used it again.

Fast forward to this year: my car broke down and I needed a loan. I tried calling and emailing — nobody replied. So I physically went to the branch during work hours just to get a quick answer. I clearly said I didn’t want to waste time I just needed to know if I could request a loan if my salary was not credited in the account (given the past year issues I did not move my salary). They told me yes that they spoke to their managers, I could get a loan, and to just book an appointment and bring all documents required.

So I booked an appointment on my day off, woke up early, drove to Naxxar, printed everything they asked for… and the moment I sat down, the girl tells me before we even look at the papers we need to do a system generated "questionnaire” first. Three ridiculous questions later, she tells me the only loan they can offer is a fully secured loan, meaning I would need to deposit the same amount of money I’m asking to borrow.

What kind of clown‑logic is this? If I had the money sitting in the account, I wouldn’t be asking for a loan. And the worst part? She admitted the front‑desk staff “can’t know this information”. Really? You need a whole appointment, traffic, paperwork, and a day off just to ask three questions that could have been done by email, phone or even via a super stupid-proof option on your website ?

They didn’t even look at my payslips, bank statements, nothing. Five minutes and it was over. A complete waste of time, again.

Their app is also a joke .. you can’t even see your own IBAN or information. I had to dig through old papers because they couldn't even answer my emails or phone calls. Customer service or whoever it was just send me an email at the end of their day and I when I reply 10 minutes later I get an automatic email reply saying they went on vacation...

This bank is useless, disorganized, stuck in the past and full of incompetent people. I am closing my account and I strongly advise anyone reading this: do not open an account with Bank of Valletta. Save yourself the frustration.

My BOV card got swallowed up by one of their very own machines. They didn't even know how to open it and return it. I had to cancel/block the card and now have to wait between SEVEN TO TEN WORKING DAYS to receive a new one in the mail. Un$uckingbelievable.

Gave one star because I couldn't give zero
Where do I start!
Customer service is not bad, it's downright hostile!
The messages they give are confusing, lacking and unless you chase them they will never reply or give updates.
I don't even want to think how chaotic it gets in the gzira branch for them not to be able to find a letter sent weeks ago.
The complaints department is basically there to waste your time writing your query out, only for them to tell you there's nothing they can do in a patronising way.
When I came to write this review I was rightly assuming this company to be rating on the low side. This was the only expectation the BOV managed to deliver.
Avoid at all costs.

I think.bov fluer de lys is the slowest service in history been open since 0830 and costumer care is still on costumer number 4 and it's now 10 o clock

It is impossible to close an account with BOV from abroad that has been unused for almost twenty years with no balance or account activity.

The online customer service gives you a lot of useless or confusing information consisting of text blocks, and the branch in question does not get back to you by phone or email.

Three (!) years ago, after consulting with a friend from Malta, I canceled the account with a notarized copy of my ID card and other required documents for a fee.

According to the mail tracking system, the documents reached the relevant branch.

Despite inquiries on my part, I never received confirmation that the account had been closed, and to this day I receive account statements by airmail.

I have already returned the letters unopened to the sender several times and still continue to receive these letters.

It is an unbelievable and nerve-wracking odyssey.

I called customer support (from Portugal) to make it possible to transfer a big amount of money. I needed this that moment. I was in a queue and I was waiting 1 h and 4 min and than the connection broke!! That costed me €25,24 and had to call back again. I didn’t get any compensation from BOV. I’m their customer for many years!!!

I applied for an appointment in October 2021 to open a business account. I had to wait two months until I had an appointment at the bank office.
There has been a constant stream of new forms to fill out and I have been treated as if I was a criminal the entire time.
BOV assumes you are guilty of everything until proven innocent. And to prove you are innocent of every new suspicion they have each and every week is just tiring.
I’ve now decided to liquidate my company and live off benefits as it’s too complicated to earn a living in Malta using Maltese banks.

I wanted to work part-time but BOV just thinks no one would possibly want to do that and therefore assumes I would be involved in criminal activities.

Shame on them.

Utterly appalling customer service, definitely not a user-experience cognistant bank. I was regrettably kept on hold in excess of 30 minutes by the customer-service rep, ignoring the request to facilitate a legitimate transfer of funds.

The mean hold time for accessing the customer service centre is in excess of 12 minutes.

Good bank , fast executions , decent services

There service ranks below the worst banks in the world. To open an account they take months . To respond to a email is a minimum of 2 days . There telephone system dosnt allow overseas phone nos and they don’t care .