Retail Account Closure in Luxembourg: Termination Rights Under Payment Services Law
Closing a retail payment account in Luxembourg is a legal exercise before it is an operational one. The Luxembourg Law of 10 November 2009 on payment services (the Payment Services Law) regulates the payment-services framework contract: the durable contractual arrangement covering recurring services, including transfers, cards, direct debits, and standing orders.
For ordinary termination under Article 74 of the Payment Services Law, a payment service provider may terminate an indefinite framework contract only where the right is expressly stipulated in the contract and at least two months’ notice is given. A payment service user may terminate at any time; any notice period imposed on the user may not exceed one month.
Key Takeaways
- Provider-led termination of an indefinite framework contract requires a contractual basis and a minimum two-month notice period.
- Termination is free for the user, except where the contract has been in force for less than six months; any charge must be appropriate and correspond to costs.
- For consumers, the Law of 13 June 2017 on payment accounts adds rules on fee transparency, account switching, and access to payment accounts with basic features.
A retail account closure is a legal and operational process that must be documented account by account. Operational points include joint accounts, dormant clients, cards, direct debits, negative balances, and access to a replacement account before closure. In practice, each closure should be traceable from the contractual basis and termination notice through to the final account status.
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