By Charlotte GAUCHON
23 March 2025
The relationship between customer and bank is based on the bank account, a central instrument in our economic life. Behind its apparent simplicity lies a legally sophisticated mechanism. By understanding how it works, you can better protect your rights. The entry of receivables into an account A little-known legal mechanism The entry of a receivable into an account constitutes a payment. Customers are often unaware of this fundamental concept. Article L.133-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code sets out the procedures for initiating payment transactions, in particular via «the payee giving a payment order to the payer's payment service provider». The entry in the accounts is not sufficient to define the entry in the account. Case law makes a clear distinction between these two concepts. In a ruling of 10 May 1989, the Court of Cassation clearly established that «entry in the account necessarily precedes entry». Settlement effect When a claim is entered in the account, it is extinguished by immediate merger into the balance. The Cour...
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