frequent questions
glossary
What is a basic bank account?
Access to the credit intermediary activity
List of authorised credit intermediaries
How to protect yourself from online fraud?
Know your rights when making payments in Europe.
Do you know what the gross domestic product is? What about inflation? (only in Portuguese)
Key tips to protect yourself when choosing online or mobile banking services.
The holder of an account is the person to whom the funds deposited belong and is responsible for movements on it.
Accounts can be opened on behalf of one or more persons:
The accounts may be handled by the holders or by persons authorised to do so.
According to the form of movement, collective accounts are as follows.
The handling conditions initially contracted may, in principle, be changed at the request of the account holders.
In certain cases, the holders of the current account may be prevented from handling the funds deposited in it, following the death of an account holder or following decisions by judicial authorities that determine the funds may not be handled.
As a rule, the disengagement from the deposit account by one of the holders should be the result of an agreement by all parties to the deposit agreement (other holders and credit institution).
Institutions must not charge fees for the change of current account ownership in the case of:
Customers must accompany the request for change of ownership with a document proving the corresponding fact.
Minors may hold deposit accounts.
Deposit accounts on behalf of minors may be opened by their legal representatives (parents or guardians) or by third parties who prove that they are entitled to legitimately open this account.
Institutions cannot charge fees for the change of ownership of a current account when one of the holders is a minor and the holders to be included or removed are their legal representatives.
Institutions are also not allowed to charge fees for changing the ownership of a current account to remove legal representatives of minors when they reach the age of majority.
Minors aged 16 or over may request that an account be opened in their own name and handle it freely as long as they meet one of the following requirements:
The death of a deposit account holder must be promptly communicated to the credit institution where the account is located. The heirs may have access to the account as long as they prove their status as heirs with the credit institution, which will indicate the documents to be presented for this purpose (for example, death certificates and certificates of inheritance).
Institutions are not allowed to charge fees exceeding 10% of the Social Support Index (IAS), i.e. €50.92 according to the value of the IAS in 2024, to issue a certificate of inheritance due to the death of a current account holder.
Credit institutions that are aware of the death of a deposit account holder are required not to authorise the withdrawal of any deposits without the heirs demonstrating, by legally established means, that the stamp duty on the transmission of such deposits has been paid or, in the case of exemption from the tax, that the obligation to report the transfer to the competent department of the Tax and Customs Authority (Article 63-A of the Stamp Duty Code) has been fulfilled.
These procedures, which are compulsory for third parties, may lead to a greater delay in the provision by the credit institutions of the goods transmitted.
Information on the financial assets of deceased holders can be obtained, by the respective heirs, by consulting the Database of Banking Accounts.
Institutions cannot charge fees for either the change of ownership of a current account in the event of the death of one of the spouses or for the removal of deceased holders. Customers must accompany the request for change of ownership with a document proving the corresponding fact.
If, for a period of 15 years, the holders of a deposit account have not handled the account nor manifested in any legitimate and unequivocal manner their right over the deposited amounts, the deposited amounts shall be deemed to have been forfeited to the State (Decree-Law No 187/70).
Banco de Portugal’s website — Database of Banking Accounts
Decree-Law No 187/70 (in Portuguese only)
Decree-Law No 3/2010 (in Portuguese only)