Right to an account with foreign banks

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Published 8 December 2022 at 09.41

Domestic. Foreign banks with branches in Sweden must offer consumers a payment account with basic functions. The government has proposed that – and now the Riksdag has said yes to the proposal.

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According to the Payment Services Act, Swedish banks are obliged to offer a payment account with basic functions to consumers. The proposal means that foreign banks with branches must also be covered by the requirements.

The background is that in recent years there has been a structural transformation in the Swedish banking market, among other things because Nordea has moved its head office from Sweden to Finland.< /p>

In its proposal, the government writes that the banks are crucial for the opportunity to participate in society. Anyone who does not have access to a payment account with basic functions ends up in an exclusion that makes it difficult for employment, buying or renting housing, payments, savings, studies, consumption and contacts with the general public. In order for the right to a payment account to fulfill its function, a sufficient number of banks need to offer these services, the government writes in the proposal.

The changes to the law will come into force on 1 January 2023.