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European citizens 'should all be able to access a bank account'
Posted by Helen Jones
All consumers in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe should be able to access some kind of bank account in the 21st century.
That is according to the European Commission (EC), which has insisted that more needs to be done to ensure that every citizen of its member states can arrange their personal finances in this way.
It explained that having a bank account has "become a pre-condition for participating fully in the economic and social life of modern society", as the use of cash is diminishing.
Figures from EC indicate that around six or seven million of the 30 million European Union citizens without an account have been denied access to one.
This, the body added, means these people are unable to benefit fully from the Single Market, a measure implemented in 1992 to remove trade barriers between countries.
Michael Barnier, internal market and services commissioner at the EC, commented: "It is important to put an end to practices that exclude people from access to such a basic and essential service."
18/07/2011 15:44
News category: Consumer