Banks are legally obliged to offer their new customers a free banking mobility assistance service. This scheme was strengthened in 2017, as part of the law for growth, activity and equal economic opportunity, known as the "Macron Law". All the steps involved in changing banks must be taken care of by the customer's new banking establishment. Three years on, UFC-Que Choisir has published a report highlighting the shortcomings of this service.
Banking mobility: what changes does the Macron law bring?
In 2014, the "Hamon law" had taken a first step towards simplifying banking mobility by enshrining in the Monetary and Financial Code the free transfer of deposit and payment accounts for individuals. It had also made it compulsory to provide a banking mobility information brochure.
The law of August 6, 2015, known as the "Macron law", which came into force on February 6, 2017 and amended Article L. 312-1-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, has strengthened this system by creating a "bank mobility mandate". This mandate enables customers to delegate to their new bank, free of charge, the task of notifying the issuers of direct debits and transfers of the change of bank domiciliation. The scheme does not apply to savings accounts or current loans.
The aim of strengthening the banking mobility service was to increase competition between banks and enable customers to benefit from attractive offers.
How does the banking mobility mandate work?
When a customer decides toopen an account with a new bank, he or she has two options:
- Take care of the formalities involved in changing your direct debit.
- Authorize your new bank to do this for you, free of charge.
In the second case, the customer must give his agreement in writing and mention the following elements:
- Cancellation of all standing order transfers to the original account and the desired end date for these transfers.
- Whether or not, depending on his decision, to close the account opened at his former bank.
- If the customer decides to close the account and it has a positive balance, he/she must indicate the date on which he/she wishes this balance to be transferred to the new account.
Once the new bank has received the banking mobility mandate file, it has 22 working days to take the necessary steps:
- The new or incoming bank has 2 working days to ask the old or outgoing bank for information about the customer's account over the last 13 months.
- When the customer's bank of departure receives the request from the bank of arrival, it is obliged to provide this information within a maximum of 5 working days.
- The customer's new bank then has 5 working days to inform all issuers of direct debits and credit transfers on the customer's old account of the change of direct debit.
- Debtors and creditors then have 10 working days to take this information into account and take the necessary action.
Defects observed at several banks
In November 2019, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir surveyed 110 banks and bank mobility providers. The findings are worrying: 10% of mandates are unsuccessful due toadministrative errors, such as entering the wrong account number.
According to UFC-Que Choisir, almost 40% of mobility requests do not result in the closure of the old account, due to the complex and costly transfer of savings products such as PEA, PEL or life insurance.
According to the consumer association, the number of disputes concerning bank switching charges is also on the increase. These include, for example, charges for rejected direct debits or late payment penalties.
These shortcomings do little to encourage customers to switch banks.
To remedy this situation, UFC-Que Choisir is calling on the public authorities to introduce a bank account number portability system, and to include savings products in the bank mobility mandate. The consumer association is also calling for regulated savings accounts such as CELs and PELs to be transferred free of charge, and for PEA transfer fees to be capped.