22 August 2012

European Commission: National measures and practices as regards access to basic payment accounts

The Commission published a working document, 'National measures and practices as regards access to basic payment accounts', which follows up the Recommendation of 18 July 2011 on access to a basic payment account.

On 18 July 2011, the Commission published a Recommendation on access to a basic payment account, with the aim of ensuring that consumers can open and use a basic payment account with a set of essential payment services, free of charge or at a reasonable charge, regardless of their place of residence in the Union and financial situation.

Member States were invited to take the necessary measures to ensure the application of the Recommendation at the latest six months after its publication.

This report provides a factual overview of the measures currently in place in Member States, as reported by the Member States, and assesses the extent to which Member States are complying with the Recommendation, in particular with regard to:

• the right to open and use an account,
• the features of such an account and
• the associated charges.

The information presented in this working document is based on the written information sent in by the Member States between 12 January and 8 June 2012.

For the purposes of this exercise, a ‘binding measure’ means a measure that is binding by virtue of a law, regulation or any kind of regulatory measure in respect of which providers cannot ask for a derogation. A ‘self-regulatory’ initiative means collective measures taken by the national industry in the form of guidance, recommendations or rules according to which its members should act. A ‘self-regulatory’ measure therefore does not include the commercial policy of an individual provider or indeed of several providers where such policy is not the result of a collective initiative.

Full working document

© European Commission