Basic bank account

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... is provided for by law for the purpose of financial inclusion

The basic bank account allows account holders to access essential payment services. It is a useful and convenient product for consumers who need to manage their money easily and for the poorest brackets of the population, who can hold one free of charge on certain conditions.

… offers a set of essential financial and payment services

These include payments by transfer and direct debit, direct deposit of salary and pension, as well as the use of a debit card (the so-called "bancomat") for payments and cash withdrawals.

… has a fixed annual fee

The all-inclusive annual fee covers a set number of transactions and services, established by the Ministry of Economics and Finance (see attachment A of the Ministerial Decree No. 70 of 3 May, 2018, only in italian).

Charges may apply for other possible transactions, as well as for any transactions exceeding the set number covered by the product, which must be reasonable and consistent with the purpose of financial inclusion.

The basic account must be offered free of charge and exempt from stamp duty to consumers whose ISEE (Indicator of household composition and financial situation) is currently below € 11.600.

A special type of basic account must be offered free of charge (but without exemption from stamp duty) to those eligible for a gross annual pension income below € 18.000 who do not qualify for exemption based on ISEE (see attachment B of the Ministerial Decree No. 70 of 3 May, 2018, only in italian).

In these cases too, even though the basic account is free, charges may apply for other possible transactions, as well as for any transactions exceeding the set number covered by the product.

All consumers who are staying in Italy legally have a right to a basic bank account

No form of discrimination is allowed, not even based on place of residency. Anyone can access a basic bank account who has a right to stay in a member State of the European Union - in accordance with EU and Italian law - including homeless consumers and asylum applicants.

All payment services providers must offer a basic bank account

Banks, Poste Italiane and other Italian authorized providers of payment services must offer at least one Euro-denominated product that has the characteristics of a basic bank account.

Compare the Comprehensive Cost Indicator (ICC) to choose the most convenient basic account

In order to choose the basic account that best suits our needs, it is useful to compare their characteristics and costs. These as shown in the Information Sheet and in the booklet that must be provided by banks and other payment services operators. The basic account ICC is calculated by taking into account all the services and transactions that must be included in the "basic account" according to the Ministry of Economics and Finance. The ICC is equal to the all-inclusive annual fee.

Financial intermediaries can only reject an application for a basic account for very specific reasons

The application for a basic account can only be rejected if the applicant does not meet the criteria (for instance, if they already hold another payment account in Italy, or if they are not consumers, or if they are not staying in Italy legally), or if the bank has reason to believe that they will use the account for illegal purposes. The consumer must be notified of the rejection in writing and free of charge, within ten working days; the bank or intermediary who rejected the application is required by law to state the reasons for the rejection. The consumer can contest the rejection in three ways: by filing a complaint with the intermediary; by filing a complaint with the Bank of Italy; by appealing to the Banking and Financial Ombudsman or another out-of-court settlement scheme for disputes.

You can close your basic account at any time

As for any other payment account, you cannot be charged any account-closure fees or penalties; you may be charged some fees for the services you used in the months before the termination, as well as the annual fee in proportion to the number of months the account has remained open.

The intermediary can only terminate your account in the cases and in the manner provided for by law. The customer must be notified of the termination two months in advance. The notification must include information on how to file a complaint with the intermediary and on the possibility of filing a complaint with the Bank of Italy or resorting to out-of-court settlement schemes for disputes, including the Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF).

You can switch from a payment account to a basic account, or viceversa

In order to switch to a basic account from a different type of account, or to switch from a basic account to a new type, the same portability procedure applies as for the all other payment accounts.

Law of reference

• Directive 2014/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on the comparability of fees related to payment accounts, payment account switching and access to payment accounts with basic features.