Brussels, 03/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission, on Monday 1 December, welcomed the European Banking Industry Committee's (EBIC) adoption of a set of “Common Principles for Bank Account Switching”, which will make it easier for consumers to switch their current account from one bank to another within their own member state (see related article).
Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: “These principles mark an important first step towards making free bank switching a reality for consumers. But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating: together with consumer bodies, we will be watching the implementation of the code carefully to see whether it produces concrete results”.
According to the principles, if a consumer wishes to change bank, the new bank will act as the primary contact point and offer its assistance throughout the switching process. It will deal with the old bank, ensuring that the transfer of the consumer's recurrent payments, such as direct debits and standing orders, is done smoothly and rapidly. The new bank will also either help the consumer to inform the relevant third parties, such as utilities providers, about the new bank account details or do it itself. The new bank will also assist the consumer in closing the old account and transferring the remaining balance to the new account. The old bank will not generally charge the consumer for providing standard information about the consumer's recurrent payments. The Commission expects that, combined with competitive market forces, this principle will lead to a situation where the whole switching process is, generally, free of charge for consumers. The principles also include monitoring by national banking associations and third party evaluation. They will apply in each member state from 1 November 2009. They can be found at: http: //ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/mobility/baeg_en.htm (L.C./transl.rt)