The right to a basic payment account
Holding and using a payment account is the very basis of financial inclusion for individuals. Without an account, individuals would face difficulties in their everyday functioning in society. The Payment Services, Electronic Money Issuance Services and Payment Systems Act stipulates that any consumer without a payment account who legally resides in the EU should have a basic payment account at their disposal, and may request the opening of an account of this kind at any bank or savings bank.
The fundamental purpose of the basic payment account is ensuring financial inclusion, and so they are also intended for people with no fixed address, asylum-seekers, and those whose residence permit has not been granted but whose expulsion is impossible for legal or factual reasons.
Banks and savings banks must inform any consumer whose application to open an ordinary current account is being refused or whose current account is being closed of their right to a basic payment account, unless the legal conditions for refusing an application to open a basic payment account are also met.
Consumers must specifically request the opening of a basic payment account, as an application to open a current account is not the same as an application to open a basic payment account. The bank or savings bank may only refuse a consumer’s application to open a basic payment account in cases explicitly stipulated by law. Special rules also apply to the unilateral withdrawal from the contract by the bank or savings bank.
Scope of services under a basic payment account
In accordance with the Payment Services, Electronic Money Issuance Services and Payment Systems Act, a basic payment account must include at least the following services:
services enabling all the operations required for the opening, managing and closing the payment account;
services that allow funds to be placed in a payment account and cash to be withdrawn from a payment account at a bank counter or at an ATM during or outside the opening hours of the bank or savings bank;
domestic and cross-border direct debits and payment transactions using a payment card, including online payments; and
domestic and cross-border credit transfers, including standing orders, at terminals, at counters and via online services of the bank or savings bank.
Fees associated to the basic payment account
While the level of the charges for managing a current account is a matter for the individual bank or savings bank, a cap on the fees for a basic payment account is set by Banka Slovenije.
Given the legal criteria, and the aim of protecting vulnerable population groups, the fee cap was set at EUR 4.90 per month, or EUR 1.47 per month (30% of the basic charge) for those eligible for cash social assistance and the social security supplement.
The Payment Services, Electronic Money Issuance Services and Payment Systems Act also stipulates that the bank or savings bank may also offer these services free of charge.
Exceptions to the right to a basic payment account
An application to open a basic payment account must be refused by a bank or savings bank when opening an account of this kind would be a breach of AML/CFT legislation, in that the bank or savings bank would be unable to meet the know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, and consequently would be unable to enter into a business relationship with the customer in accordance with the aforementioned legislation. The bank or savings bank also has the option of refusing a consumer’s application to open a basic payment account in cases explicitly set out by law (and solely in these cases) as follows:
if the consumer already has a payment account at a bank or savings bank in Slovenia that allows them to use the same set of services as a basic payment account (except when the consumer indicates that they have been informed that the payment account will be closed), or
if the consumer breaches a contractual obligation to the bank with whom they wish to open a basic payment account, or has done so in the last three years.
The bank or savings bank must inform the consumer of its decision to refuse the application to open a basic payment account in writing, free of charge and without delay, citing the specific grounds for refusal, unless this is prohibited on the basis of other regulations. In the event of the refusal of the application to open a basic payment account, the bank or savings bank must also inform the consumer about the process for appealing against the refusal of the application, the right to inform Banka Slovenije about the refusal of the application, and the right to extra-judicial dispute resolution, citing the relevant contact information.
Unilateral closure of a basic payment account
A bank or savings bank may only unilaterally close a basic payment account in the following cases:
if the consumer intentionally uses the basic payment account for unlawful purposes;
if there has been no transaction in the basic payment account for more than 24 consecutive months;
if the consumer submitted inaccurate information to obtain the right to a basic payment account, when on the basis of accurate information the right would not have been obtained;
if the consumer no longer legally resides in the European Union;
if the consumer subsequently opens a payment account at another bank or savings bank that allows them to use the full scope of basic payment account services;
if the consumer breaches a contractual obligation to the bank or savings bank, or has done so in the last three years; or
under conditions set out with regard to termination of the contract by other law (for example AML/CFT legislation).
In the event of the unilateral closure of a basic payment account, the bank or savings bank must inform the consumer about the process for appealing against the closure, about the right to inform Banka Slovenije about the closure, and about the right to extra-judicial dispute resolution, citing the relevant contact information.