People facing financial difficulties do not always easily obtain a checking account with a bank. For them, there is the basic banking service aimed at individuals. This page explains what a basic banking service entails for individuals.
Without a bank account, you can hardly make payments or receive money. To prevent you from dropping out completely, all Belgian banks must offer you a basic banking service. This means that the bank gives you a current account with a debit card so you can carry out some basic transactions.
The basic banking service makes it possible to:
You can only do these transactions if there is enough money in your account.
Alle natuurlijke personen hebben recht op de basisbankdienst. De bank mag jouw aanvraag in principe niet afwijzen. Ook als je een collectieve schuldenregeling hebt, heb je recht op de basisbankdienst. Ook ondernemingen hebben recht op een basisbankdienst.
All private individuals are entitled to the basic banking service. In principle, the bank may not reject your application. Even if you have a collective debt arrangement, you are entitled to basic banking service. Companies are also entitled to (a specific) basic banking service.
All banks offeringcurrent accounts in Belgium. You can choose at which bank you request the basic banking service. The banks must make information about this service available free of charge, clearly and visibly in the branches.
The basic banking service is not necessarily free. The maximum price for the basic banking service is adjusted annually according to the consumer price index.
Contact the bank and ask for the basic banking service for individuals.
Yes, the basic banking service is also there for asylum seekers and recognised refugees. Even if they only have a temporary address.
If the documents mentioned above are not available, in theory you can also use other documents listed in the other enclosures of the Royal Decree of October 8, 1981. However, it may take more time to process a request for a basic banking service on the basis of those documents.
In exceptional cases, your identity can also be established provisionally with a passport from a foreign government. Your identity is then established until you have a valid residence document from the Belgian government.