1.

The term “basic payment account” should be defined as a payment account offered in line with the provisions of the proposed legislation. Payment accounts of a basic nature that do not fully comply with those provisions should not be considered to be covered by that term.

2.

The directive should provide that Member States must ensure access to basic payment services by obliging, in principle, all payment service providers as defined in Article 4(9) of Directive 2007/64/EC that offer payment accounts to consumers as an integral part of their regular business to provide basic payment accounts.

3.

Any legislative initiative should respect the principle of subsidiarity and should take into account existing legal or voluntary arrangements in Member States where the right to access and use a basic payment account is already successfully ensured;

4.

Accordingly, in order to avoid undue burdens on payment service providers not offering payment accounts to consumers, the following should be exempt from the obligation to provide a basic payment account:

5.

Member States should be permitted to exempt other payment service providers from the obligation to provide a basic payment account. Any exemptions should be based on objective and very restrictive criteria, and should cover only payment service providers such as those based on a non-profit business model or those not operating in general retail payment services. Any exemptions should not undermine the right of access for consumers and should be as few as possible so as to minimise the negative effects on competition.

6.

The legislation to be adopted should ensure that any consumer, that is to say any natural person who is acting for purposes other than his trade, business, craft or profession, legally resident in the Union, has the right to open and use a basic payment account with a payment service provider operating in a Member State provided that the consumer does not already hold a payment account in that Member State. Member States should ensure that there are workable mechanisms available to the consumer to close a regular payment account in order to convert or shift to a basic payment account. Proof of identity should be required when opening a basic payment account.

7.

The legislation to be adopted should ensure that it is not unduly burdensome for consumers to demonstrate that they do not already hold a payment account. This could be achieved, inter alia, by requiring a declaration of honour on the part of the consumer.

8.

Criteria such as the level or regularity of income, employment, credit history, level of indebtedness, individual situation regarding bankruptcy or expected turnover of the account holder should not be taken into account for the opening a basic payment account. Access to a basic payment account should under no circumstances be made conditional on the purchase of other products or services, such as insurance or an additional account.

9.

The proposal should provide that a basic payment account can be refused or annulled only in objectively justified circumstances under relevant Union or national law not relating to the criteria in paragraph 8 such as in the case of:

10.

If needed, Member States should put in place non-discriminatory and flexible measures to assist consumers in meeting due diligence requirements, while complying with the legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing. Such measures should, in particular, take into account the needs of consumers with no fixed address.

11.

To facilitate this, Member States should be allowed to classify basic payment accounts as low-risk products in accordance with Article 3(3) of Commission Directive 2006/70/EC implementing Directive 2005/60/EC. Accordingly, providers may be obliged to apply simplified customer due diligence requirements. The Commission should aim to further clarify interpretations of the legislation on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing to ensure that, in the context of basic banking services, they are applied in a balanced and proportional way. Nobody should be denied access to or be disqualified from a basic payment account on those grounds unless there are well-founded and objective reasons for doing so. Such rules should never be used as an unfounded pretext for rejecting commercially less attractive consumers.

12.

The legislation to be adopted should oblige payment service providers to act transparently in relation to a decision to deny or close a basic payment account, while complying with the legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing as well as on the prevention and investigation of crimes. In order to allow the consumer to question the payment service provider's decision, the payment service provider should inform the consumer in writing of the reason for the refusal to open or decision to close a basic payment account. The provider should also be obliged to inform the consumer about possibilities for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

13.

The legislation to be adopted should require the provider to act rapidly when verifying whether the consumer has right to access a basic payment account, whereby the provider must inform the consumer in writing about grounds for any delay longer than two weeks. Grounds for which the provider is responsible, such as an excessive workload, should not be justification for such a delay. The provider may require consumers to be physically present in the nearest available branch to open the account. However, where it would be impossible or unduly burdensome for consumers to be physically present, alternative solutions should be found.

14.

The legislation should enable the user of a basic payment account to make any essential payment transactions such as receiving income or benefits, paying bills or taxes and purchasing goods and services via both physical and remote channels using mainstream national systems.

15.

Member States should be able, if they think fit, to allow payment service providers to provide small overdrafts as a buffer to cover temporary negative balances, where appropriate. Providers should, moreover, be free to offer credit products, as separate services, to basic payment account customers, where appropriate. The access to or use of the basic payment account should in no way be restricted by or made conditional on the purchase of such services or products. The fees charged for such overdrafts and for separate credit products should be transparent and at least as favourable as usual pricing policy of the provider.

16.

Access to a basic payment account should be offered free of charge or at a reasonable cost. If fees are charged, they should be transparent. Every Member State should establish an upper limit for the total annual fees related to opening and using a basic payment account. The Commission should assess the feasibility of establishing a Union-wide upper limit for the total annual fees related to opening and using a basic payment account. The Commission should also explore ways to adapt that Union limit to national circumstances such as general consumer price levels, income levels and average charges associated with regular payment accounts. Payment service providers should be required to ensure that, among the products that they offer, the basic payment account is always – no matter how the comparison is made – the most affordable account for carrying out basic payment transactions.

17.

Any penalty charges should be reasonable and at least as favourable as the provider’s usual pricing policy. Penalty charges should not be included when calculating total annual fees.

18.

Providers should be obliged to include only functionalities that are part of their regular offer. Where this is the case, a basic payment account should include the following services:

(a)

the opening and closing of the payment account;

(b)

services enabling cash to be placed and transactions to be received to a payment account;

(c)

services enabling cash withdrawals from a payment account;

(d)

provision of account statements.

(a)

transfers of funds in the currency of the Member State where the account has been opened via the execution of credit transfers including interbank executions;

(b)

transfers of funds in the currency of the Member State where the account has been opened via the execution of payment transactions through a payment card that does not allow the execution of payment transactions that would exceed the current balance of the payment account;

(c)

the execution of standing orders in the currency of the Member State where the account has been opened, including interbank executions;

(d)

the execution of direct debit in the currency of the Member State where the account has been opened including interbank executions in Member States where its use is necessary for the execution of essential transactions.

19.

Member States should provide consumers with necessary and understandable information about the availability of basic payment accounts, targeting the particular needs and concerns of unbanked, vulnerable and mobile consumers. The Commission and Member States should contribute to a high level of awareness among consumers and stakeholders. Providers should use different available channels, for example their websites and, where applicable, branches where information should be visible to consumers.

20.

Member States should encourage banks to develop arrangements for advising their most vulnerable customers in order to help them to act responsibly and manage their budgets.

21.

In order for basic payment account customers to be serviced in an appropriate way, the legislation to be adopted should require providers to ensure that relevant staff are adequately trained and that potential conflicts of interest do not affect these customers in a negative way.

22.

Information requirements deriving from the legislation to be adopted should be without prejudice to the requirements laid down by Directive 2007/64/EC concerning the provision of information to consumers.

23.

The legislation to be adopted should oblige Member States to designate competent authorities to ensure and monitor effective compliance with its requirements. Those designated competent authorities should be independent from payment service providers.

24.

Member States should be obliged to specify principles for sanctions to be imposed on providers for non-compliance with the basic payment accounts framework, including for infringements on statistical requirements as described in paragraph 25.

25.

Member States should be required to ensure that providers regularly provide the competent national authorities with reliable information on basic payment accounts opened and closed as well as on the applications for basic payment accounts that are refused and the grounds for such refusals. Providers should also make detailed information available to the competent national authorities on the costs related to basic payment accounts.

26.

Each year, Member States should provide the aggregated information as described in paragraph 25 to the Commission and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority). The data should be published in an aggregated and understandable form.

27.

Member States should ensure that appropriate and effective complaints and redress procedures are established for the out-of-court settlement of disputes concerning the rights and obligations established under the principles set out in the legislation to be adopted between payment service providers and consumers, using existing bodies where appropriate. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies need to be independent, easily accessible and its services should be free of charge. In order to ensure its impartiality, equal representation of providers, consumers and other users needs to be ensured. Member States should ensure that all basic payment account providers adhere to one or more such bodies implementing such complaint and redress procedures.

28.

Member States should be required to ensure that ADR bodies actively cooperate in the resolution of cross-border disputes. Where disputes involve parties in different Member States, FIN NET should be used to resolve consumer complaints.

29.

The legislation to be adopted should be implemented by Member States within 12 months following the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

30.

In close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, the Commission should, within three years after the entry into force of the directive and every five years thereafter, publish a report on its application. That report should evaluate:

Where appropriate, the report should be accompanied by a proposal for amendments to the legislation and by recommendations for better implementation in the Member States. The report should be forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Council.

31.

The Commission should complement the proposed directive on basic payment accounts by further initiatives aiming at further integration and harmonisation of retail banking services and prevention of financial exclusion. Such a package should, in particular: