Adrian Georgice
The Committee on Economics, Budget, and Finance held on Tuesday, June 30, held public consultations on a draft law regarding the comparability of fees related to payment accounts, switching payment accounts, and access to payment accounts with basic services.
As Logos Press has previously reported, among the key changes is the guaranteed right of citizens to a payment account with basic services, which will be provided free of charge or for a reasonable fee, without any discrimination.
This category will include citizens who receive government social benefits (pensions, allowances) and whose officially verified average monthly income over the past six months does not exceed the national minimum wage. For such customers, commercial banks will be required to provide a basic package of services free of charge: opening, maintaining, and closing accounts; depositing money; and withdrawing cash at teller windows and ATMs in Moldova and European Union countries.
“One of the most discussed aspects was how a bank would be able to verify whether a person is a vulnerable consumer or not. It’s simple. Without imposing any obligations or conditions on the consumer, such as ‘bring document A, bring document B, bring proof C,’ said Adrian Georgice, a member of the Administrative Council of the National Commission for the Financial Market (NCFM), during the consultations.
He explained that, for clarity, the draft was supplemented with a provision that essentially requires the Tax Service to provide access to its database of payment accounts.
“When opening accounts, banks are required to report to the Tax Service. In other words, this information used to flow in only one direction. Through these supplementary provisions, it was proposed that banks be able to request relevant information from the Tax Service to determine whether a person has other sources of income and other payment accounts they are already using, in order to assess whether or not they fall under the definition of a financially vulnerable consumer,” Georgitse clarified.
The law notes that “in the case of consumers who do not fall under the definition of a financially vulnerable consumer, banks may charge reasonable fees for services.”
It should also be noted that, to ensure transparency and access to affordable financial services, the National Commission for Financial Regulation (NCFR) will create a webpage containing information about the services offered by various payment service providers, including the fees charged. This will allow consumers to compare offers and choose the most advantageous options.
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