Switching your bank accounts with portability

Have you ever changed your phone provider to get a better deal? You can do the same with your bank account. If you find a bank that offers lower fees or services that suit you better, you can switch accounts easily, for free, and within a fixed time. This is called portability - the legal process for switching bank accounts in Italy.

What is portability?

Portability lets you move the money in your old account and your regular payments (like your salary or bills) to a new account in your name at a different bank. You can move just the money, just the services, or both—it's up to you.

The new account can be one you've just opened, or one you already had. You can also choose whether or not to close your old account.

How it works

Portability is free, and your old bank cannot stop you from switching.

You can transfer:

  • incoming payments, like your salary or pension;
  • standing orders, like rent payments;
  • direct debits, such as bills or loan repayments.

Some direct debits - like payments for certain credit cards or services like Telepass - can't be moved automatically. The new bank must tell you if this applies and help you sort it out. INPS payments (like some pensions) also can't be switched through portability and may take longer to change over.

Your old account won't close automatically. If you keep it open, you'll still pay any fees linked to it.

If you want to close it, bear in mind that you can say so when you request portability, or close it later; and you can ask the old bank to forward any incoming transfers to your new account for 12 months. This service is free. After that, the old bank will reject new transfers and must inform the sender.

Who can use portability?

Portability is for consumers only. This means individuals who don't use the account for business, professional or commercial purposes.

The new account must:

  • be in your name (or in the names of all joint holders);
  • be in euros (if the old one was in euros);
  • be in a different bank based in Italy.

If the new account is in the same bank, or in a foreign bank, a different process applies. Ask your bank for details.

You can still switch even if:

  • your old account is overdrawn (you can still move your payment services);
  • you have a loan (you can allow the lender to collect repayments from the new account);;
  • you use extra services like insurance.

How to start the switch

Go to the bank where your new account is and ask to start portability. If the new account is joint, all account holders must sign the request.

The bank will give you a form to fill in, including the date when the money and services should start on the new account. This date must be at least 12 working days after the request (Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays don't count).

The new bank must finish the switch within 12 working days from the day it gets all the info and documents it needs.

The new bank will gather the information from your old bank to move your services. You can also help by giving this information directly. If something is missing, the new bank may contact you.

Don't worry: your payments will keep working during the switch. The old bank is responsible until the switch date, and the new bank takes over from that date.

If something goes wrong

If the new bank takes longer than 12 working days, you get €40 in compensation, plus more money depending on:

Here's how to calculate the extra amount: (interest rate × account balance) x (days of delay : 365).

Example: rate = 0.27 (27%), balance = 8,000 euro, delay = 7 days

Extra = (0.27 × 8,000) × (7 ÷ 365) = €41.42

If there's a delay or mistake, you can send a written complaint to both banks.

If you don't get a reply, or if the reply doesn't solve the problem, you can:

Even if you got the €40, you can still ask for more if you suffered more damage.

You can also report bad behaviour by either bank to the Banca d'Italia.

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