Your EU Banking Rights as an Expat

Your EU Banking Rights as an Expat

Getting turned away by a European bank is a common expat experience. You walk in with your passport and residence permit, sit down with a banker, and hear some version of "we can't open an account for you" — sometimes with a vague excuse, sometimes with no explanation at all.

What most expats don't know: EU law is on your side. The Payment Accounts Directive gives you a legal right to a basic bank account in any EU country. Here's how it works and how to use it.

The Payment Accounts Directive (PAD)

Directive 2014/92/EU, commonly called the Payment Accounts Directive or PAD, was adopted by the European Parliament in 2014 and implemented across EU member states by September 2016. Its central purpose is to ensure that every person legally residing in the EU can access basic banking services, regardless of their nationality, income level, or employment status.

Before the PAD, banks in many EU countries could — and routinely did — refuse to open accounts for non-nationals, people without proof of income, or anyone they considered commercially unattractive. The PAD changed this from a matter of bank discretion to a matter of legal right.

Who Is Eligible?

The PAD applies to:

• EU citizens living in any EU member state (including their home country)
• Non-EU citizens who are legally resident in any EU member state — this includes holders of residence permits, long-term visas, and refugee status
• Asylum seekers who have applied for international protection, even if their application is still pending
• People without a fixed address, where member states have chosen to extend coverage (some do, some don't)

The key phrase is "legally resident." If you have a valid visa, residence permit, or registration certificate, you qualify. You do not need to be an EU citizen.

What a Basic Payment Account Must Include

Under the PAD, a basic payment account must provide at minimum:

1. Cash deposits and withdrawals at branches or ATMs
2. SEPA credit transfers — both one-off and standing orders — to any IBAN within the SEPA zone
3. SEPA direct debits — so you can set up recurring bill payments
4. A payment card — either a debit card or a prepaid card that can be used for purchases online and in stores
5. Online banking access — including viewing transactions and initiating transfers

The bank cannot require you to buy additional products (insurance, premium accounts, investment products) as a condition of opening the basic account. The account must function as a standalone product.

What a Basic Account Does Not Include

The PAD guarantees basic transactional banking. It does not give you the right to:

• An overdraft or credit facility
• A credit card
• A savings account with interest
• Investment or trading services
• Multi-currency balances

If you need these features, you'll either need to qualify for a standard bank account (subject to the bank's normal criteria) or use a neobank like Wise or Revolut to supplement your basic account.

How Much Can Banks Charge?

Banks can charge for basic payment accounts, but the PAD requires that fees be "reasonable." What counts as reasonable is defined by each member state. In practice:

• Germany — Basic accounts (Basiskonto) typically have modest monthly fees, generally under 10 EUR/month. Some banks have been criticised for charging disproportionately, and court rulings have pushed fees down.
• France — The "droit au compte" (right to account) provisions pre-date the PAD. Basic accounts must be free for vulnerable consumers; others pay a capped fee.
• Netherlands — Basic accounts are generally available at low or no monthly cost.
• Nordic countries — Denmark, Sweden, and Finland generally offer basic banking at low fees, though the specifics vary by bank.
• Southern Europe — Spain, Italy, and Portugal have implemented the PAD, but fee levels and ease of access vary. Italy in particular has been flagged for inconsistent enforcement.

Each member state must publish a comparison website listing account fees across banks, making it easier to find the cheapest option. The European Commission's website links to these national comparison tools.

How to Invoke Your Right

If a bank refuses to open an account for you, here is the step-by-step process:

1. State Your Right Explicitly

Tell the bank employee that you are requesting a basic payment account under the Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU) or its national implementation (cite the local law name if you know it — for example, Zahlungskontengesetz in Germany, or droit au compte in France). Many front-line staff are simply unaware of the obligation.

2. Request a Written Refusal

If the bank still refuses, ask for the refusal in writing, including the specific reason. Under the PAD, banks can only refuse on limited grounds:

• You already hold a payment account at another bank in the same country that provides equivalent services
• Anti-money laundering or terrorist financing concerns (legitimate, but must be specific — not a blanket excuse)

3. Contact the National Authority

Every EU member state has designated an authority to handle PAD complaints. This is typically the national financial supervisor, banking ombudsman, or consumer protection agency. File a complaint and include the written refusal. In most cases, the threat of regulatory complaint is enough to resolve the issue — banks face penalties for non-compliance.

4. Escalate if Necessary

If the national authority doesn't resolve your complaint, you can escalate to the European Commission through its SOLVIT network, which handles cross-border disputes about EU rights.

Country-Level Implementation Quality

Not all member states implement the PAD with equal enthusiasm:

Strong implementation: Germany, Netherlands, Ireland — banks generally comply, regulators are responsive, and information is readily available in English.

Adequate implementation: France, Belgium, Austria — the rights exist and work, but navigating the bureaucracy can be slow and may require persistence.

Weaker implementation: Italy, Spain, Greece — the laws are on the books, but practical enforcement is inconsistent. Branch-level staff may not know about the obligation, and complaint resolution can take months.

EEA (non-EU): Norway and Iceland have implemented equivalent rules under the EEA Agreement. Switzerland is not covered by the PAD — Swiss banks have their own regulations around account access, and enforcement works differently.

How Wise and Revolut Fit In

The PAD is about traditional banks. But for many expats, the practical reality is that neobanks like Wise and Revolut have made the PAD less critical to daily life. Both offer accounts with SEPA transfers, debit cards, and online banking — the core features the PAD mandates — without requiring local residency or invoking any regulatory right.

That said, there are situations where a traditional bank account is still necessary or preferable:

• Salary payments — some employers require a local bank account issued by a licensed bank
• Mortgage or loan applications — traditional banks are the only option here
• Deposit protection — Wise and Revolut (depending on your country) may not offer the same deposit guarantee as a licensed bank
• Local credibility — landlords and some service providers prefer to see a local bank IBAN

In these cases, knowing your PAD rights gives you leverage. Walk into the bank informed, ask for a basic payment account by name, and be prepared to escalate if refused. The law is clear; the challenge is ensuring it's applied.