The Chamber's Opinion: Clarifications Needed for Primary Payment Account Regulation Amendments

The Ministry of Finance has drafted a bill to amend the regulation of opening and closing personal bank accounts, also known as primary payment services. The proposed changes outline the circumstances under which a primary payment service agreement can be terminated. According to the Chamber, the bill requires further clarification.

Regular Termination of Primary Payment Service Agreements in Certain Cases

Under the planned amendments, a provision will be added to the Law of Obligations Act, regulating the termination of primary payment service agreements. According to the proposed provision, a credit institution may terminate an agreement with a consumer only in exceptional and legally defined cases.

The Chamber pointed out that it is crucial for credit institutions to have clearly defined guidelines regarding which consumers these termination exceptions apply to. Since credit institutions are not obligated to enter into agreements with consumers residing outside the European Union for opening bank accounts, certain termination conditions do not apply to these consumers. Therefore, the Chamber found it necessary to clarify that regular termination of primary payment service agreements should be possible for certain consumers.

Expanding the Conditions for Termination of Primary Payment Service Agreements

According to the bill, a credit institution may terminate a primary payment service agreement with a consumer if there have not been sufficient funds in the payment account for at least six consecutive months to meet the obligations arising from the primary payment service agreement, and the owed amount exceeds 100 euros.

The Chamber proposed expanding the principle set forth in the bill to include significant breaches of other contractual obligations. Currently, the provision is too narrowly focused on service fee arrears. Primary payment service agreements include other obligations that the client must follow, and in cases of significant breach of these obligations, the credit institution should have the right to terminate the agreement (e.g., the obligation to provide the bank with the necessary data and documents for due diligence in the case of a payment account agreement).