Since 2018, consumers have had the right to a payment account under the Act on Payments. Czech legislation thus complies with the EU Directive, which grants this right to consumers legally residing in an EU Member State. Payment service providers must open a basic payment account for consumers (who meet the legal conditions) upon request, respectively propose a contract for its opening. They cannot terminate the contract and close the account unless a situation foreseen by law occurs, such as a gross breach of contract.

Right of Entrepreneurs to a Payment Account

With the originally proposed amendment to the Act on Payments, the MPs intended to extend the right of consumers to a payment account also to entrepreneurs. According to the amendment, payment service providers would also be obliged to open a basic payment account upon request for sole traders or legal entities. The drafters justified the amendment in the explanatory memorandum by aiming to prevent potential discrimination against entrepreneurs, particularly legal entities, in the banking market based solely on their business activities.

However, the government argues that the proposal interferes with the contractual freedom of payment service providers, who have the right to decide whether and with whom they enter into a contractual relationship. The government also warned that such a blanket guarantee of the right to a payment account could mean that companies engaged in unclear, risky, or otherwise problematic business activities, or shell companies, would be entitled to accounts. This could fundamentally undermine the obligations of payment service providers, particularly in the areas of money laundering and terrorist financing prevention.

Unique Position of Entrepreneurs with Virtual Assets

Although the government did not support the original proposal to generally grant entrepreneurs the right to a payment account, the debate has been renewed due to the growing number of players in the cryptocurrency services market, including other crypto-assets. These entrepreneurs, such as crypto exchanges, are particularly affected by the problem of difficult access to payment accounts.

The current wording of the Act on Payments demonstrates that if there is a will, breaking contractual freedom is possible even in business. Payment service providers already have the right to access payment accounts under existing law. In practice, this means that banks and other credit institutions are obliged to enter into payment account contracts with them under objective, non-discriminatory, and reasonable conditions, enabling them to provide payment services efficiently and without hindrance.

The possibility of refusing to conclude or terminate a contract is significantly limited by law, similar to the situation for consumers. In practice, certain prerequisites must be met, typically when the conclusion or continuation of the contract would result in a legal violation for the bank, most often concerning regulations against money laundering and terrorist financing. Any refusal to conclude or terminate a contract must be justified on a case-by-case basis, notified to the Czech National Bank (CNB), and explained to the affected payment service provider.

The right to open a payment account is already available to a very narrow and highly regulated group of entrepreneurs. Due to the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs providing cryptocurrency services, MPs are now proposing to extend this protection to them. In the words of the bill, this would apply to “persons providing services related to virtual assets”. These businesses would be assured access to payment accounts on the same terms as payment service providers, while the special treatment for basic accounts for consumers would remain unaffected.

The future of a blanket right to a payment account for businesses in general remains uncertain, but changes could soon be on the horizon for those businesses facing the greatest barriers to setting up accounts. The amendment proposes that these changes coincide with the implementation of European regulations on virtual asset services, making the new proposal more acceptable to legislators.