2025-02-10
Lietuvos bankas: barriers to using the basic payment account service are unacceptable
Credit institutions providing the basic payment account service to residents must provide information about the service (the composition of the package, rates, conditions for ordering and provision of the service) on their websites and mobile apps in a clear and comprehensible manner.
Consumers must be able to easily switch their current payment service package/plan to a basic payment account service package. If the consumer does not yet have any service package/plan, they must be able to choose and order it according to the information provided by the credit institution.
This information must be provided to consumers next to other service packages/plans offered by the credit institution and easily visible, as indicated in Lietuvos bankas’ letter (67.4 KB download icon) sent out to credit institutions this week regarding information on and availability of the basic payment account service.
Payment services have already become an integral part of everyone’s life, it is practically impossible to imagine a commercial activity, an employment relationship or meeting household needs without them. For this reason, information relating to the content of payment services, packages and fees cannot be of a formal nature.
All service packages/plans offered by the credit institution should be published together so that they can be compared. The composition of each package and the rates applied must be clearly detailed and presented in a single document or in such a way that all relevant information can be easily and conveniently found by the consumer.
The basic payment account package laid down in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Payments must be displayed prominently among the other packages and plans offered by the credit institution. The consumer must clearly understand from the information provided if the service offered corresponds to a basic payment account service.
Credit institutions cannot impose additional conditions which would make the choice of a basic payment account service more difficult for any consumer wishing to do so. It must be made clear that there is no need to purchase any additional services to be able to use the basic payment account service.
The basic payment account service has been updated following the entry into force of the amendments to the Law on Payments on 1 January 2025. Find out more about the basic payment account here.