The right to a basic payment account
An account that can receive salary, pay rent and utilities, make transfers and support a payment card is basic infrastructure for living across Europe. EU law gives consumers a route into that infrastructure: a person legally resident in the Union can apply for a payment account with basic features in an EU country regardless of where inside the EU that person lives. Residence in the bank's country cannot by itself be the reason for refusal.
The exact product name varies. It may be called a basic payment account, basic bank account, account with basic features or a national equivalent. Ask the bank which product implements Directive 2014/92/EU. A normal current account advertised by the bank may have different commercial eligibility rules, and the EU access right does not automatically cover a savings account, overdraft, credit card, investment product or loan.
The right is for consumers who are legally resident in the EU. The Directive also includes homeless consumers, asylum applicants and people who cannot be expelled for factual or legal reasons even where a residence permit has not been issued. National implementation determines the documents and designated providers. A company account is outside this consumer right, and a bank does not have to grant credit merely because it must offer essential payment functions.
Cross-border applications and genuine interest
A cross-border applicant should make the request precise. State that you are applying for the country's payment account with basic features under the national law implementing the Payment Accounts Directive. Give your identity, legal-residence evidence and tax-residency information, then explain why the account is needed. A job, study place, property, regular family obligation or planned move can show a genuine interest when national law permits that test.
The genuine-interest rule is not a free licence to reject non-residents. Member states may require it, but exercising the right must not become excessively difficult or burdensome. Ask the bank to name the national rule and accepted evidence. A work contract, university admission, tenancy, property document or correspondence showing a recurring payment need may be relevant; do not send more personal data than the bank's documented process requires.
Identity checks, refusal grounds and the ten-day decision
Banks must still know their customer and comply with rules against money laundering and terrorist financing. Expect a valid identity document, address and residence evidence, tax-identification details, information about the expected use of the account and sometimes the source of funds. A bank can require clear, current documents and can refuse where opening the account would breach those rules. The right to an account does not remove identity verification or make an incomplete application complete.
Some countries allow refusal when the applicant already holds a payment account with the same essential services at a bank in that country. That is a same-country rule, not a general rule that one account anywhere in Europe cancels the right. Limited additional refusal grounds may exist in national law to prevent abuse or support access to a free account. Ask for the exact ground rather than accepting a vague statement that the bank does not serve foreigners.
Once the bank has a complete basic-account application, the Directive requires an opening or refusal without undue delay and no later than ten business days. A lawful refusal should normally be given immediately in writing, free of charge, with the specific reason and information about the complaint authority and alternative dispute-resolution body. A bank may withhold a reason where disclosure would conflict with anti-money-laundering, national-security or public-order requirements.
If the response is only an automated commercial rejection, reply in writing that the application concerns the regulated payment account with basic features and ask whether the file was assessed under the national Payment Accounts Directive rules. Record when the application became complete, what documents were supplied and every reason given. Do not repeatedly submit inconsistent information to different channels; correct any factual error in one organised file.
What the basic account must provide
A basic account must support the operations needed for ordinary payment life: opening, operating and closing the account; placing funds; withdrawing cash; receiving payments; credit transfers; standing orders; direct debits; and card payments, including online payments where the service is available. Online banking should be included where the bank offers it with ordinary accounts. An overdraft or credit facility is not guaranteed.
Fees, annual statements and currency conversion
Basic does not necessarily mean free. Member states must ensure that the covered services are offered free of charge or for a reasonable fee, and national rules can define what is reasonable. Before signing, obtain the standard fee information document. It lists the fees for the most representative services using standardised terminology, which makes comparison more reliable than a promotional monthly price.
After opening, the bank must provide a statement of fees at least annually and free of charge, including relevant interest information. Check card charges, cash-withdrawal limits, branch transactions, transfers, direct debits, replacement cards and currency conversion. EU rules can equalise charges for comparable euro payments without making foreign-exchange conversion free. An ATM's exchange-rate offer can cost more even when the withdrawal fee itself follows the cross-border rule.
Switching accounts and IBAN discrimination
Opening an account abroad and switching accounts are different rights. The Payment Accounts Directive provides a switching service between payment accounts in the same EU country. The new bank can help move standing orders, direct debits and relevant incoming payments, and mistakes that cause direct financial loss can create a right to reimbursement. The Directive does not create one automatic switching service between banks in different countries, so a cross-border move often requires opening the new account and updating payers and payees yourself.
You may not need a second account merely to receive euro salary or pay a euro bill. If an employer, utility, tax body or trader accepts domestic SEPA credit transfers or direct debits, it generally cannot reject an account solely because its IBAN comes from another EU country. That is IBAN discrimination. The SEPA guide explains the common payment rails; the account-opening right and the rule against IBAN discrimination solve related but different barriers.
When someone demands a local IBAN, ask for the refusal in writing and state that the account supports the same SEPA transfer or direct-debit type accepted from domestic accounts. Preserve the invoice, contract, screenshot and rejected account details. File the complaint with the competent authority in the country where the discrimination occurred, and send the Commission's feedback form if useful. Currency conversion, non-euro payments and services outside SEPA need a separate analysis.
€100,000 deposit protection
Money held at an EU bank is normally protected by the relevant national deposit-guarantee scheme up to €100,000 per depositor per bank, or the equivalent in local currency. Multiple accounts at the same bank are aggregated. A joint account normally gives each holder a separate limit, and certain temporary high balances linked to events such as a home sale can receive extra national protection for a limited period. Confirm the bank's legal entity and scheme; two brands can belong to one licensed bank.
The 2026 update to the EU crisis-management and deposit-insurance framework keeps the €100,000 protection and will apply through national changes from 2028. It does not turn today's national guarantee schemes into one already-operational EU-wide fund. Branches can be covered by the home-country scheme of the bank, while a separately licensed subsidiary normally belongs to the host-country scheme. Read the depositor information sheet instead of inferring coverage from a brand or app language.
Complaints, evidence and the European banking floor
If a bank refuses, first use its formal complaint procedure and request the written ground, the competent supervisory authority and the designated out-of-court body. For a cross-border financial-services dispute in the European Economic Area, FIN-NET connects national ombudsmen and alternative dispute-resolution bodies. FIN-NET is a network, not a claims agent; it does not contact consumers promising recovery or ask for fees. Treat anyone doing so in its name as a scam.
A strong application file contains the named basic-account product, complete form, identity and residence evidence, tax details, genuine-interest evidence if relevant, fee information document, submission date and bank replies. Before funding the account, verify the licensed legal entity, deposit-guarantee scheme, complaints body, card and transfer fees, currency-conversion terms, online access and whether the account actually supports the payments you need.
A shared Europe is not usable if a person can legally move for work or study but cannot receive wages or pay a landlord. The basic-account right, common fee documents, same-country switching, SEPA and deposit protection form a European floor beneath national banking markets. The unfinished work is equally clear: cross-border onboarding remains uneven, switching across countries is not seamless and unlawful local-IBAN demands persist. Rights become real when the bank names the product, explains a refusal and a competent body can correct it.