A stable, well-functioning financial market for allA stable, well-functioning financial market for allNot everyone can pay
Not everyone has access to payment services such as giro services or internet banking. It is mainly people with a record of non-payment and those without Swedish civic registration or coordination numbers who lack access to such services. Those who are denied payment services are forced to pay their bills through the banks’ counter service which incurs high costs and is time inefficient.
FI will take the following measures
FI intends to clarify the regulations on who can be denied access to accounts and payment services.
The investigation
The number of complaints shows that it has probably become more difficult for consumers with a record of non-payment, for example, to gain access to bank payment services such as giro services, internet banking and telephone banking. As these types of payment are becoming increasingly dominant and as alternatives are disappearing, there are growing problems for those who do not have access to such services. Manual payment services are costly and time-consuming for the private consumer. Therefore, it is important that consumers are not denied cheaper payment services without good cause.
In order to pay using another method than over the counter, the payer is normally required to have a deposit account at a bank. That means that those who are denied a deposit account cannot gain access to efficient payment services either.
The investigation is based on questions addressed to five banks (SEB, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Swedbank and Länsförsäkringar Bank) regarding their routines for opening a deposit account and payment services. We also asked the banks about their internal complaints statistics on this matter.
