§ 4-39. Account switching (kontobytte) to a bank in another EEA (EØS) state

The Financial Contracts Act (Finansavtaleloven)·LOV-2020-12-18-146

Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська

In brief

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

§ 4-39. Account switching between EEA states

(1) If a consumer informs their payment service provider (betalingstjenesteyter) of a wish to open a payment account (betalingskonto) with a payment service provider established in another EEA state, the transferring payment service provider shall offer the consumer
  1. a list of corresponding information covered by § 4-37 first paragraph letters a and b
  2. to transfer any positive balance to the consumer's payment account with the new payment service provider, provided that the consumer has given complete information making it possible to identify the new payment service provider and the consumer's payment account
  3. to close the payment account.
(2) The tasks under the first paragraph shall be carried out on the date the consumer has specified, unless the consumer's outstanding obligations prevent this. The date set by the consumer shall be at least six business days after the transferring payment service provider has received the request from the consumer, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The transferring payment service provider shall immediately notify the consumer if outstanding obligations prevent the payment account from being closed.
Source: Lovdata — Finansavtaleloven (the Financial Contracts Act) § 4-39

What does this mean?

The section applies to consumers who want to open an account with a bank established in another EEA state. The bank must offer the consumer a list of information corresponding to what the old bank would otherwise send to the new one under § 4-37. It must also move any positive balance to the new account and close the old one.

Transferring the balance requires that the consumer has given complete information. The information must make it possible to identify both the new bank and the consumer's account there. If the consumer has given too little, the bank cannot carry out the transfer.

The second paragraph sets the time frame. The tasks must be carried out on the date the consumer has specified, unless outstanding obligations prevent it. The date must be at least six business days after the Norwegian bank received the consumer's request, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. If outstanding obligations prevent the account from being closed, the bank must notify the consumer immediately.

Example: a consumer wants to move to a bank in another EEA state and provides the account details there. The bank receives the request, and the consumer chooses a date at least six business days ahead. If everything is in order, the balance is moved and the account is closed on that day. If the consumer has outstanding obligations linked to the account, the bank must say immediately that closing it is not possible.

Compare with the domestic rules. There, under § 4-37 third paragraph, the old bank can also refuse to close the account if there are outstanding obligations or a running notice period, and it must give notice of this. The new bank's tasks under § 4-38 and the authorisation rules in § 4-35 are not covered by this section. Notice of termination (oppsigelse) by the consumer is regulated in § 4-42, while § 4-43 says when the bank itself can terminate an account agreement (kontoavtale). Fees for services under §§ 4-34 to 4-40 are regulated in § 4-41.

Related sections
All sections of the Financial Contracts Act →