The European Commission published a Recommendation in which considers that access to a basic payment account will promote financial and social inclusion for consumers across Europe. According to the Commission, the access to a bank account has become a pre-condition for participating fully in the economic and social life of a modern society.

The Commission Recommendation to Member States sets out the fundamental principles that should be put in place at national level to guarantee access to suitable payment services. It considers that any consumer residing in the Union, irrespective of his financial circumstances, should have the right to open and use a basic payment account. The Commission invites Member States to ensure that such accounts become available at a reasonable charge to consumers, regardless of their country of residence in the EU or their financial situation. This recommendation joint to the European Commission objective presented in March 2011 of acting on all fronts to give EU consumers a fairer deal in financial services.

Furthermore, the Recommendation specifies which payment services a basic payment account should and should not include. It should enable the holder to receive, deposit, transfer and withdraw funds. It should also allow the execution of direct debits and credit transfers, but does not include overdraft facilities. On the other hand, ensuring access to basic payment services should not only be about granting a right. The Recommendation sets out the principle that, if the account is not provided for free, the charges requested by the payment service provider should be reasonable. Each Member State should determine what constitutes a reasonable charge.

The Commission encourages Member States to launch campaigns raising public awareness of the availability of such basic payment accounts, their pricing conditions, the procedures to be followed in order to exercise the right to access basic payment accounts and the methods for having access to an out-of-court complaint and redress mechanism. It also asks Member States to compile reliable statistics related to basic payment accounts so as to ensure a better monitoring of the situation. It will assess the situation in one year's time and propose any further measures as necessary, including legislative measures.