By Charlotte GAUCHON
The 27 March 2025
Modern life demands a bank account. Its absence complicates payments, income collection and social integration. Yet the legal aspects of the right to a bank account are often poorly understood by the general public. The right to an account: a mechanism for banking inclusion The legislator has created a «right to an account» to combat banking exclusion. Article L.312-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code establishes this right for any individual or legal entity domiciled in France, as well as for French individuals living abroad. The procedure is simple: if a bank refuses to open an account, it must issue a certificate of refusal. The applicant can then apply to the Banque de France, which will designate an institution required to open an account. Since decree no. 2022-347 of 11 March 2022, the procedure has been refined. People whose accounts have been terminated are considered as not having an account. A system of implicit refusal has been introduced...
EN 
FR