Through a bank account – a deposit of money in the bank – holders can direct deposit collections and payments, make transfers or withdraw cash. It is an essential element in the update to guarantee financial inclusion and European regulations require entities to offer basic payment accounts – without costs – to clients without resources as long as they meet certain requirements. How do you open a bank account? Can you change an entity account?
Opening a bank account is not a complicated procedure; it will be enough to present the documentation requested by the bank. However, it is important to take into account the conditions of each account, commissions and other associated costs. Before contracting the account, the bank must provide the client with all detailed information about its main characteristics.
A person can have as many accounts as they want and can also change the entity account whenever they want. Currently, as explained by the Bank of Spain (BdE), clients can request the entity receiving the account to change the entity and the originating entity must facilitate the transfer of the account in an agile and efficient manner.
Express request for account transfer
To proceed with the transfer of an account, the owner must expressly request the new entity. Specifically, you must indicate the execution date of the account transfer, which may not be less than six business days from the time the new entity will receive all the information necessary for the transfer from the originating entity.
The entities will be in charge of transferring the most common financial operations that they carry out in the account that you wish to transfer, such as, for example, direct debits of receipts, standing transfer orders or periodic transfers received.
Change bank account without costs
Changing the account to another entity does not entail any cost for the client if the transfer is made between payment service providers operating in Spain, or takes place within the same provider. Thus, if the account to be transferred has a balance in favor, the originating entity will make a payment order for that balance to the new entity, as long as there are no debts due and pending debit in said account.
Specifically, the BdE details that payment service providers must actively collaborate and exchange all the information that is necessary, among themselves and with the client themselves so that the transfer of the account reaches a successful conclusion.
Customers may want to change banks to seek more advantageous conditions for the same services they currently have. However, when choosing the account, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) recommends opting for one “that does not charge you for the most frequent operations and that fits well with your profile.” Also, remember that the conditions of a checking account are not fixed and can be negotiated.
It must be taken into account that the commissions charged by the entities are free, except in cases where they are legally limited. Therefore, as long as the account is active, it may charge an import fee to its holders, as long as it has been established in the contract and the client has expressly accepted.
On the other hand, he also points out that having a checking account in an entity does not mean having to also contract other products with it: “Even if the account is good, the loans, cards or funds from that bank may not be among the top”. For this reason, he points out that, if due to circumstances you have to keep the account, “you can always leave it only for what is essential, and open another one that does not charge you commissions to carry out the transactions that are more expensive in the usual one.”
