Brussels, 19/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 November, the European Parliament adopted its opinion on the legislative proposal aiming to guarantee universal access to a basic bank account.
According to the committee on economic and monetary affairs, all persons residing legally in the EU should have the right to open an everyday bank account and this right should not be denied them for reasons related to the nationality or place of residence of the applicant. “Banks should not be entitled to exclude citizens from society by denying them access to regular payment services”, said Jürgen Klute (GUE/NGL, Germany), rapporteur on this dossier. In the EU, there are nearly 60 million people without a bank account, and half of these would like one. And 2.6 million people have been turned down when trying to open an account because they were students or not sufficiently creditworthy.
Basic bank account means an ordinary account enabling consumers to deposit and withdraw cash and to make payment transactions using a dedicated bank card or over the internet. Overdraft facilities, on the other hand, will not be included. In order to ensure appropriate levels of understanding of the services available and enable consumers to compare them, the MEPs believe that the information available should be standardised. They propose that there should be national websites comparing the fees charged and interest paid by banks. They believe that financial institutions should keep all information relating to accounts up to date and be held liable in the event of delays or resulting losses. “It is also vital to enable consumers to compare fees and switch accounts easily when they find better offers”, said Klute. The plenary vote is scheduled for the December session. (MB/transl.fl)