Banking mobility facts sheet
A short information regarding bank mobility formalities as of February 6th, 2017 (Art. L. 312-1-7 and R. 312-4-4 of the french Financial and Monetary Code).
Banking mobility formalities are free of charge and applicable to private individuals. They are proposed by all Banks located in France in order to make easier changes of address regarding bank direct debits transactions and recurring bank transfers. This refers to transactions of the same amount transferred to the same account at least twice during the last thirteen months.
You may be concerned by the bank mobility formalities if you are a consumer (as opposed to a company or sole trader) wanting to move to a new Bank.
This service applies to deposit accounts or to payment transfer accounts owned in any currency by consumers (individuals not acting as professionals) wanting to switch to a new Bank. This service can only be applied by French banking institutions on accounts opened solely in France.
The bank mobility process involves three banking operators:
- The New Bank (or receiving bank): it welcomes the new customer and ensures that the change of bank domiciliation is well processed.
- The Former Bank: the customer’s former bank will be compelled to give information to the receiving Bank.
- The Issuing Bank: it will have to convey the new banking references to its clients who issue direct debits on the customers’ account.
To be granted with bank mobility facilities, you will have to sign at first a banking mobility mandate authorizing your new Bank to effect on your behalf the formalities linked with the change of account in order for debit transactions and bank transfers to be effected on the new account. On the occasion of the signature of the baking mobility mandate, your new Bank must be informed about your wish to close the bank account held by the former Bank and the final date chosen to close this account. Your former Bank account identification will be required in order to enable your new bank to put into force the banking mobility procedure.
Nevertheless, the procedures with your counterparties can be achieved on your own. For this purpose, you could use typical letters proposed by your new Bank.
The new Bank
Within the framework of the bank mobility facility, the new Bank requires from the former Bank, within two working days following the signature of the mandate:
- The information related to valid direct debit and recurring bank transfers having been passed through / moved in the account during the thirteen previous months.
- The list of unused (not debited) cheques from issued cheque books within the thirteen previous months.
At the same time, it will ask the former Bank to stop permanent transfers at the date chosen in the banking mobility mandate.
Then it will communicate the new account ID to banks issuing debit transactions and bank transfers on behalf of their clients within the two working days following the reception of their bank details sent by the former Bank.
The former Bank
The former Bank must inform the new Bank about the above mentioned information within five working days following the request.
If the account is closed, the former Bank must inform its former client by any appropriate means, during a period of thirteen months starting from the date of the account closure, within the following three working days regarding:
- The presentation of a bank transfer or a direct debit on the closed account.
- The presentation of a cheque on the closed account. The former Bank informs the customer that it is obliged to refuse the payment of the cheque and about the consequences of the refusal as well as the conditions to solve the matter.
The Bank of issuer
The issuing Bank receives the new bank details and the history of bank transfers or direct debits within the two working days following the collection of information from the former to the receiving Bank. It will send the required information to its issuing customer within the three working days following the receipt of information.
The Issuer
The issuer must register the new bank details and effect any new transaction on the new account within a ten working days’ notice. It must inform the client concerned by bank mobility facility in the same period that:
- The new bank account number has been taken into consideration, the date of the last term submitted on the former account.
- The date from which the following term will be submitted on the new account – or the impossibility to determine the date of the next direct debit.
Any transfer for which the execution date goes beyond the second-to-last month following expiration of the abovementioned ten days deadline is submitted on the new account.
Any direct debit initiated on the former account further to the expiry date, cannot be subject to any payment charges resulting from a rejected payment on a closed account or an account with insufficient funds.
Claims
For any question or claim, you can refer to the Customer’s service by any means of your choice to the following address:
Banque SBA
68, avenue des Champs Elysées
75008 PARIS
Mail: reclamations@eblf-sbaparis.com
If your claim remains unsolved, you can write to the Ombudsman at the following address:
Monsieur le Médiateur, CS151 – 75422 PARIS CEDEX 09
For further information, you can also read the “Guide de la mobilité FBF” published by the French banking federation.