What is it?
Basic payment accounts are a type of account that responds to the need to promote financial inclusion in the European Union by facilitating consumer access to basic banking services.
Banks are not only obliged to offer this type of account without making the opening of such account conditional on the arrangement of other services, but also to make them known and inform customers about their characteristics.
But what are these characteristics? Among other things, you should know that these are accounts:
denominated in euro
open at a credit institution
providing at least the following services:
- opening, use and closure of the account
- deposit of funds
- cash withdrawal
- payment transactions in the EU: direct debits, payment transactions using a debit or prepaid card, including online payments and transfers (including standing orders).
To learn more about basic payment accounts, see our 2020 Complaints Report (in Spanish) (134 KB)