Basic banking service in Belgium: a right, €20.34 a year at most

Yes, you have a right to an account. A Belgian bank may refuse you an ordinary current account, but not the basic banking service (service bancaire de base) if you are legally resident in the European Union: it answers within ten working days, and the account has cost at most €20.34 a year since 1 January 2026.

Can a bank refuse to open an account for you?

An ordinary account, yes. And without explanation.

A bank chooses its customers like any other business, and anti-money-laundering law even forbids it from opening an account when it cannot identify the person or the origin of their income. The basic banking service is the exception organised by Book VII of the Belgian Code of Economic Law: a payment account stripped down to the essentials, which every bank serving private customers must offer.

Who is entitled to the basic banking service?

Any consumer who is legally resident in a Member State of the European Union, according to the FPS Economy, the federal economy ministry. No minimum income, no salary paid into the account and no Belgian address are required. Banks also open it to Belgians who moved abroad less than ten years ago.

The bank can refuse only in the following cases:

• you already have a basic banking service or another payment account in Belgium;
• the average annual balance of your other accounts, savings included, reaches the legal threshold;
• your consumer credit reaches that same threshold;
• you have been convicted of fraud, breach of trust, fraudulent bankruptcy or forgery;
• opening the account would breach the anti-money-laundering law of 18 September 2017.

The threshold deserves a check. The text mentions €6,000, and Wikifin, the consumer site of the FSMA (the financial markets regulator), updated on 9 December 2025, still shows that amount. Belfius, Argenta and Revolut apply an indexed threshold of €10,239.43 as of 1 January 2026.

How much does the basic banking service cost, bank by bank?

At most €20.34 a year since 1 January 2026, a ceiling indexed every year on consumer prices. It was €16.34 in 2021: a €4 rise in five years.

For that price, the bank provides the account, a debit card, statements and an unlimited number of electronic transactions (transfers, standing orders, direct debits, card payments, withdrawals). Manual transactions, a paper transfer or a withdrawal at the counter, are limited to 36 a year. No overdraft, no credit card, no cheques.

Basic banking service: public pages of BNP Paribas Fortis, Argenta and Revolut consulted on 2 October 2026; ING, Belfius and KBC from Business AM of 25 November 2024, prices I could not re-verify for 2026. Ordinary accounts: survey of 26 July 2026 on the fee information documents, Revolut checked on 26 September 2026.

At two banks out of six, the ordinary account is cheaper

At Argenta, the basic banking service costs €19.20 a year and the Green formula €0. At ING, €19.24 against €0 for the Lion Account. The right to an account therefore costs more than the account these two banks give their ordinary customers, and it only makes sense for someone who was refused that free account. Conversely, it saves €15 a year at KBC, €16.80 at BNP Paribas Fortis and €3.60 at Belfius, for a narrower service.

So before filling in the form, check whether a free current account is open to you elsewhere.

Can a bank close an account without a reason?

An ordinary account, yes, with two months' notice.

The account contract is open-ended, and the Code of Economic Law lets the bank end it with at least two months' notice. It must do so in writing and return the balance free of charge; it does not have to say why. When the break follows an anti-money-laundering check that went unanswered, the law of 18 September 2017 actually obliges the bank to end the relationship, which explains the curt letters received by customers with a spotless record after a questionnaire was left aside. Test-Achats, the Belgian consumer organisation, pointed it out on 27 January 2025: the ombudsman can reopen the dialogue, not force the bank to keep you.

Take a termination letter received on Monday 5 October 2026. The account cannot be closed before 5 December. A complete application for a basic banking service filed on Tuesday 6 October, at another bank, must be answered by Tuesday 20 October at the latest. That leaves six weeks to give the new number to your employer, your health insurance fund and your suppliers. The timetable holds, provided you do not spend the first month negotiating with a bank that has already made up its mind.

The basic banking service is better protected. The bank can terminate it on six grounds only, and in a reasoned written notice.

How do you apply for the basic banking service after a refusal?

1. Choose the bank. Any bank, not necessarily the one that refused you.
2. Ask for the "service bancaire de base" form, in a branch at BNP Paribas Fortis and at most banks with a network.
3. Attach an identity document and, if an account has just been closed, the termination letter.
4. Declare your other accounts and outstanding credit on the form. A false statement is a ground for termination.
5. Note the filing date. The bank has ten working days from the complete form.

What if the bank refuses the basic service too?

Demand the refusal in writing. The bank must give its reasons and state the remedies, unless the reason relates to money laundering. Then send a complaint to its internal complaints department, which in principle answers within a month. Without a satisfactory answer, turn to Ombudsfin, the Belgian financial services ombudsman, within a year of that first complaint, attaching the letters exchanged. The Economic Inspectorate of the FPS Economy can also be alerted.

Refused or shown the door: ten working days to get an answer

This article gives general information and does not replace legal advice on a particular case. To place each institution's annual cost, our ranking of Belgian banks lists the prices one by one, and the bank comparison tool puts two packages side by side. Fee lines can be checked in the fee information document.

Sources

• FPS Economy, Service bancaire de base: right open to any consumer legally resident in a Member State, articles VII.56/1 to VII.59/3 of the Code of Economic Law, decision within ten working days, written, free and reasoned refusal, 36 manual transactions a year, grounds for termination, ceiling of €16.34 on 1 January 2021. Page updated on 17 May 2021, consulted on 2 October 2026.
• Wikifin (FSMA), Le service bancaire de base: ceiling of €20.34 a year from 1 January 2026, €6,000 threshold, transactions included. Updated on 9 December 2025.
• Test-Achats, Que faire si votre banque vous met à la porte ?: unilateral termination, two months to transfer your funds, role of Ombudsfin. Published on 27 January 2025.
• Ombudsfin, Introduire une plainte: prior complaint to the bank, answer expected within a month in principle, initial complaint less than a year old. Consulted on 2 October 2026.
• Bankinglaw.be, De-risking, clôture de relation bancaire et responsabilité: notice of at least two months, duty to end the relationship under the law of 18 September 2017, reasoned termination of the basic banking service (law of 8 November 2020). Published on 8 January 2023.
• Jubel, Détenir un compte de paiement auprès d'une banque : un droit ?: basic banking service for businesses, three refusals required, in force since 1 May 2021.
• Business AM, Après BNP Paribas Fortis, ING augmente le coût du service bancaire de base: ING €19.24 a year from 1 January 2025, KBC €15, Belfius €16.20. Published on 25 November 2024.
• BNP Paribas Fortis, Service bancaire de base: €1.60 a month, application in a branch. Consulted on 2 October 2026.
• Argenta, Service bancaire de base: €1.60 a month, threshold of €10,239.43. Consulted on 2 October 2026.