A basic bank account is a right, not a service

What you need to do

You need an account earlier than you expect: without one you cannot pay for housing, arrange insurance or receive a scholarship. And the first refusal at a branch is ordinary — it simply feels like a verdict when it is not one.

The union has a rule on the basic payment account. Its point is that access to a basic account is a consumer right, and it cannot be refused merely because you have no local address or local residence. A bank may check documents and may offer its own tariffs, but "you do not live here" is not in itself a ground for refusal.

The practical consequence: a refusal at one branch is the refusal of an employee, not the position of the system. Ask specifically about a basic account rather than a standard package, and ask for the refusal in writing if it is refused.

Where this is stated officially

• Your Europe — the page on basic bank accounts in the union: who is entitled, what a bank must offer and how to act when refused.

How to check the requirement is still current

The rule is common to the union, but its application is national: each country has its own list of documents and its own body that handles complaints. So check two levels: the general page on the right to an account, and your country's page on the procedure for opening one.

Which banks in which country must offer a basic account, and what exactly it includes, is in the facts on the country pages, each with a link to its source.