Don’t leave your unused current accounts open: avoid fees and unexpected losses

02/06/2026

Bank customers have a responsibility to monitor and manage their accounts properly. If you want to close an account, you must explicitly ask your bank to do so. Simply withdrawing all the funds and leaving the account balance at zero is not enough. The account will remain active and may continue to generate fees.

“Dormant accounts” are a frequent source of problems for bank customers. These are accounts that were opened years ago and then fell into disuse without ever being closed. Often, account holders are unaware that the account remains active or that maintenance fees may still be charged. Remember that banks may continue to charge any fees specified in the account agreement for as long as the account remains open, even if there is no activity.

The following situations are not uncommon:

• A customer believes an account has been closed, only to be contacted later by the bank and asked to settle the accrued fees.
• A customer leaves money in an account for a long time, only to find that part or all of the balance has been eaten up by maintenance fees.

Banks must inform you when they identify an account or deposit that appears to be inactive and explicitly warn you that fees and commissions may continue to accrue. A message to your online banking inbox alone is not enough. Even if the account agreement provides for communications via the online banking channel, the bank must ensure that the information actually reaches you, using standard communication channels such as telephone and email where necessary.

It is important to be aware that specific rules apply to “unclaimed balances”.

Under Spanish law, an account is deemed “unclaimed” when 20 years have elapsed since the last transaction. After this time the funds become the property of the State, as stipulated in Article 18.3 of Law 33/2003 of 3 November 2003 on government property.

Banks are required to notify the Ministry of Finance of these balances, pursuant to the procedure laid down in Order EHA/3291/2008. Under this procedure, banks must:

• Check for any transactions that indicate the account holder is still exercising ownership rights over the funds or deposits.
• Inform the account holder, at least three months before the twenty-year period elapses, that no activity has been recorded in the account and that it is about to be classified as unclaimed.
• Upon request, provide the account holder or their heirs with a certificate confirming that the funds have been transferred to the State, including the date of the transfer and the State office that handled the process.

For further information, the annual reports of the Directorate-General for State Assets provide details of the amount of unclaimed balances transferred to the State each year: Memorias Dirección General Patrimonio del EstadoAbre en ventana nueva (in Spanish).

You may be surprised to learn that, according to the latest annual report, in 2024 the State received €18,334,607.99 in unclaimed balances.