French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI. - A. - For the purposes of Article L. 312-1-3, the financial fragility of the account holder is assessed by the account-keeping institution on the basis of :
1° The existence of irregularities in the operation of the account or payment incidents and their repeated nature observed over three consecutive months and in particular when their number is greater than or equal to five during the same month. In the latter case, the customer is considered to be financially vulnerable for at least three months;
2° And the amount of funds credited to the account.
In its assessment, the institution may also take into account any factors of which it is aware and which it considers likely to lead to payment incidents, in particular expenditure debited to the account.
B. - For the purposes of II of article L. 312-1 and article L. 312-1-3, the following are also considered to be financially vulnerable:
1° Persons in whose name an unpaid cheque or declaration of bank card withdrawal has been registered for three consecutive months in the Banque de France file centralising cheque payment incidents;
2° Debtors whose application for treatment of their over-indebtedness has been declared admissible in application ofarticle L. 722-1 of the Consumer Code , as well as those benefiting from measures to treat their over-indebtedness, for the duration of their registration in the file provided for inarticle L. 751-1 of the Consumer Code.
II. - The offer to subscribe to the specific offer is made on paper or on another durable medium. Credit institutions shall keep a copy.
III. - The specific offer includes at least the following banking services:
1° Keeping, closing and, where applicable, opening a deposit account ;
2° A systematic authorisation payment card;
3° Cash deposits and withdrawals at the branch of the bank holding the account;
4° Four SEPA credit transfers per month, including at least one standing order, and an unlimited number of SEPA direct debits;
5° Two bank cheques per month;
6° A means of consulting the account remotely and the possibility of carrying out management transactions remotely to another account held by the holder within the same institution;
7° An account balance alert system;
8° Provision of bank details;
9° The specific ceiling on intervention fees provided for in article R. 312-4-2;
10° A change of address once a year.
IV. - The specific offer is offered for a fee that may not exceed three euros per month. This amount is adjusted annually in line with the INSEE consumer price index excluding tobacco.
V. - If the holder of an account that has taken out a specific offer no longer wishes to benefit from it and opts for another offer, the credit institution will receive his/her waiver on paper or on another durable medium.
