§ 4-35. Authorisation to the new bank for account switching

This section makes it possible for the consumer to leave the actual moving work to the new bank. The consumer agrees on account switching with the new bank (the receiving payment service provider) and authorises it to carry out the switch. The authorisation is the starting signal: As soon as the new bank has received it, it must get started.

The authorisation can be limited. The consumer can let it apply only to some of the tasks that § 4-37 places on the old bank and § 4-38 places on the new one. He can also limit it to certain incoming payments or certain standing orders, so that not everything is moved over at once.

The third subsection gives the consumer control over the timing. He can choose the date from which standing payment orders and direct debits are to be executed from the account at the new bank. The date cannot be sooner than six business days after the new bank has received the information the old bank must send under § 4-37. The fourth subsection requires the new bank to give the consumer a written copy of the authorisation.

This section is one of several steps in a process. Under § 4-36, the new bank must ask the old one to carry out the tasks within two business days after the authorisation came in. The old bank must then, under § 4-37, send the information within five business days. The new bank carries out its tasks within five business days after the information arrived, see § 4-38. The inside of the process is therefore: authorisation, request, information and start on the chosen date.

If the consumer wants to open an account with a bank in another state in the EEA (EØS), § 4-39 applies, with a somewhat different procedure. The framework for the whole scheme is set out in § 4-34, which gives the consumer a clear, quick and secure procedure.