The use of the right to an account has fallen by more than 50% since 2015. This decline can be explained in particular by the success of alternative solutions, paying but more practical, such as the Nickel account.
In France, more than nine out of ten people have a bank account. This is more than (almost) anywhere else in the world, including among rich countries. There are many reasons for this excellent banking rate. Among them, the voluntarism of the public authorities.
In France, since 1984, having a bank account is, in fact, a right. So that all citizens – and even, since June 2017, all those legally residing in France and in the European Union – can take full advantage of it, the Banque de France has set up a dedicated procedure. She allows him toimpose on a banking institution appointed to welcome any person without a deposit account and who has already registered a refusal to open.
This procedure of the right to the account, however, is in decline. Contrary to other indicators, pointing instead to an increase in household financial difficulties since the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of designations is down sharply: -52% since 2015, according to the Observatory of Banking Inclusion ( OIB) of the Bank of France.
An alternative solution better than the original
How to explain this decline? In its recent 2022 annual report, the OIB unveils a possible answer. It can be summed up in one word: Nickel. Without naming it, the institution points to a causal link between the decline in the use of the right to an account and the success of the payment account distributed in a tobacco shoplaunched on a large scale in February 2014 and which now has more than 3 million customers.
“At the local level, members of the CDIFs [conseils départementaux de l’inclusion financière, NDLR] confirm this trend by observing a growing use of payment accounts, partly “by default” given the speed with which these accounts are opened in contrast to the time required with banks”, notes the Observatory of Inclusion banking.
Speed: this is, in fact, Nickel’s great strength. Now available in more than 6,800 tobacconists across the country, the service allows you to open immediately (“in 5 minutes”, he promises) a payment account with IBAN and bank card.
By contrast, the opening via the account right resembles a way of the cross, despite some recent improvements. The time between the request to open a bank account and its actual opening following the designation of the Banque de France is often counted in weeks, during which the user remains without means of payment.
Worse, according to the ACPR (1), the sector supervisor, one out of three designations does not lead to the opening of the account. “The alternative is better than the original”, sums up Pauline Dujardin, lawyer and spokesperson for Crésus, a network of associations fighting against over-indebtedness.
Right to an account: outlaw banks
The right to the account also lost the battle for recognition. From the outset, the payment account presented itself as an antidote for people mistreated by banks. “Indeed, some people prefer to deal with their tobacconist than their banker,” notes Pauline Dujardin.
This presence in tobacconists also ensures wide reputation at Nickel, which is lacking in the right to the account. “This is a problem that systematically comes up on questions of financial inclusion: the existing systems are completely unknown to potential beneficiaries”, notes the federal lawyer from Crésus. “It would take massive information campaigns, on the internet, but also on television, to reach the widest audience. »
Nickel has a cost
Easier to access, easier to use on a daily basis, better known: Nickel has won the battle on a regular basis. However, is it a good thing that a private for-profit player and 100% subsidiary of the first French commercial bank (BNP Paribas) manages to eclipse a system in the general interest? Because, as the OIB notes, “accounts opened with payment institutions do not offer the same services as a deposit account opened within the framework of the account right procedure. »
It should indeed be remembered. Nickel is not lacking in assets, but it is not a bank in its own right (even if it belongs to BNP Paribas). Its status as a simple payment institution explains in particular thathe cannot offer overdrafts or Livret A.
Another consequence: the money deposited is not not directly covered by the deposit guarantee of 100,000 euros, reserved for credit institutions. This means that in the event of bankruptcy, there is a risk that users will be permanently deprived of access to their money, while the judicial liquidation procedure takes place.
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Above all, Nickel ain’t free. Count at least 20 euros per year to access the service, to which are added costs for each ATM withdrawal (1.5 euros), for each cash deposit (2% of the amount deposited) or check (3 euros). .. Benefits to which the exercise of the right to the account allows access without payment. The banks designated by the Banque de France, in fact, have the obligation to provide certain basic banking services free of charge to the beneficiaries.
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(1) Prudential Supervisory and Resolution Authority