The Right to a Basic Account Carries Strong Electronic Identification With It, and the Bank Has Ten Banking Days to Say Yes or No
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Guyana on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
147 exceptions recorded across 54 countries · none match Guyana to Finland · Opening a bank account
Chapter 15, section 6 of the Credit Institutions Act gives anyone lawfully resident in an EEA state the right to a euro-denominated basic payment account from a deposit bank that offers payment services, and it does something the Union's directive does not: it puts electronic identification services inside the same right, in the same sentence, three times over. Section 6 a(2) makes that explicit - the bank must offer a strong electronic identification service to its basic-account customer if it offers one to anyone else - which in Finland means the bank identifiers that are the ordinary key to tax filings, health records and public services. The bank must accept or reject the application without undue delay and at the latest within ten banking days, and may refuse only for a reason arising from the Money Laundering Act (444/2017) or the sanctions Act (659/1967). A refusal must be given precisely, in writing, free of charge, with the appeal route explained. Fees must be reasonable and correspond to the bank's actual costs, and reasonableness is assessed against the national income level.
At a glance
- Who has the right
- Natural persons lawfully resident in an EEA state
Chapter 15, section 6(1) of the Credit Institutions Act. No Finnish residence and no permit is required by the text.
- What the right covers
- A euro basic payment account, the payment services attached to it, and electronic identification services
Chapter 15, section 6(1). The identification services are named in the same sentence as the account.
- Strong electronic identification
- Must be offered to a basic-account customer if the bank offers it to anyone else
Chapter 15, section 6 a(2), last sentence. The bank may also not limit the number of transactions.
- Decision deadline
- Ten banking days
Chapter 15, section 6(2). Without undue delay, and at the latest within that period.
- Grounds for refusal
- Only the Money Laundering Act (444/2017) or the sanctions Act (659/1967)
Chapter 15, section 6(2), second sentence. The list is exhaustive on its face.
- Fees
- Reasonable and corresponding to the bank's actual costs
Chapter 15, section 6 a(3), which requires the national income level and the average charged for payment account services to be taken into account.
Requirements
- Lawful residence in an EEA state
- Acting principally for a purpose outside your trade or profession
- Nothing arising under the Money Laundering Act or the sanctions Act that prevents the account
In detail
What Finland added to the directive
Every country in this corpus that transposed Directive 2014/92/EU has a basic payment account. Finland is the one that wrote electronic identification into the right alongside it, and then said the bank must give a basic-account customer strong identification if it gives it to anybody. In Finland the bank identifiers are the general-purpose key to the state: a person without them files taxes, reads health records and applies for services the hard way or not at all. The provision therefore does more work than its placement in a banking statute suggests, and a reader comparing it with the Swedish or Danish records should notice that neither of those mentions identification at all.
Reasonable fees, assessed against the country's income
Sweden's record ends with no cap on what a basic account costs. Finland's section 6 a(3) requires the fee to be reasonable, to correspond to the bank's actual costs, and to be judged against the national income level and the average charged for payment account services. It is still not a number, and no authority's determination of one was read - but it is a standard a customer can argue about, which an uncapped fee is not.
Country-level policy
Finland does not ask what permit you hold when it decides what you are entitled to. It asks whether you have a kotikunta - a municipality of residence determined under the Municipality of Residence Act (201/1994) - and that question has its own statute, its own criteria and its own answer. The health duty runs through it: a wellbeing services county owes care to its residents, and a resident is someone whose kotikunta lies in its area. The driving licence clocks in sections 60 and 61 of the Driving Licences Act run from the entry in the population register that a kotikunta produces. Residence-based social security under Act 16/2019 points at section 4 of the same Act for anyone arriving from outside the EU. Section 4 opens the gate to a Finnish citizen, to a holder of a continuous or permanent permit, to a registered Union, EEA or Swiss citizen, to a family member of someone who already has one - and to a holder of a temporary permit of at least a year who also intends to settle, which is where the evidence list in section 4(2) does its work. One year abroad closes it again under section 5(1), unless the ties here remain closer.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Guyana
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Talletuspankin on maksutiliä, maksupalveluita ja sähköisen tunnistamisen palveluita tarjotessaan tarjottava niitä yhdenvertaisesti ja syrjimättömästi ETA-valtiossa laillisesti asuville. Maksupalveluita tarjoavan talletuspankin on tarjottava euromääräistä perusmaksutiliä, siihen liittyviä maksupalveluita ja sähköisen tunnistamisen palveluita ETA-valtiossa laillisesti asuville luonnollisille henkilöille noudattaen tätä pykälää ja 6 a ja 6 b §:ää. Perusmaksutiliä, siihen liittyviä maksupalveluita ja sähköisen tunnistamisen palveluita tarjotessaan talletuspankin tulee kohdella kaikkia asiakkaita yhdenvertaisesti ja syrjimättömästi. Asiakkaalla tarkoitetaan tässä pykälässä ja 6 a ja 6 b §:ssä luonnollista henkilöä, joka toimii pääasiallisesti sellaisessa tarkoituksessa, joka ei kuulu hänen elinkeino- tai ammattitoimintaansa.»Our translation - not official
When offering a payment account, payment services and electronic identification services, a deposit bank must offer them equally and without discrimination to persons lawfully resident in an EEA state. A deposit bank offering payment services must offer a euro-denominated basic payment account, the payment services connected with it and electronic identification services to natural persons lawfully resident in an EEA state in accordance with this section and sections 6 a and 6 b. When offering a basic payment account, the payment services connected with it and electronic identification services, a deposit bank must treat all customers equally and without discrimination. Customer in this section and in sections 6 a and 6 b means a natural person acting principally for a purpose that is outside his or her trade or profession.
The identification services are not an add-on here; they are repeated in every sentence of the right.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Talletuspankin on hyväksyttävä tai hylättävä asiakkaan perusmaksutilihakemus ilman aiheetonta viivytystä ja viimeistään kymmenen pankkipäivän kuluessa siitä, kun se on vastaanottanut hakemuksen.»Our translation - not official
A deposit bank must accept or reject a customer's application for a basic payment account without undue delay and at the latest within ten banking days of receiving the application.
About this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Talletuspankki saa kieltäytyä perusmaksutilin avaamisesta ja perusmaksutiliin liittyvien maksupalveluiden tarjoamisesta vain rahanpesun ja terrorismin rahoittamisen estämisestä annetusta laista (444/2017) tai eräiden Suomelle Yhdistyneiden Kansakuntien ja Euroopan unionin jäsenenä kuuluvien velvoitusten täyttämisestä annetusta laista (659/1967) johtuvasta syystä.»Our translation - not official
A deposit bank may refuse to open a basic payment account and to offer the payment services connected with a basic payment account only for a reason arising from the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (444/2017) or from the Act on fulfilling certain obligations of Finland as a member of the United Nations and the European Union (659/1967).
About this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Talletuspankin tarjoaman perusmaksutilin tulee sisältää seuraavat palvelut: 1) perusmaksutilin avaaminen, käyttäminen ja sulkeminen; 2) varojen tallettaminen; 3) käteisen nostaminen ETA-valtion alueella; 4) maksutapahtumien toteuttaminen suoraveloituksina, maksukortilla, tilisiirroilla, pankkipäätteillä, luottolaitoksen toimipisteissä ja luottolaitoksen verkkopalveluissa.»Our translation - not official
A basic payment account offered by a deposit bank must include the following services: 1) opening, using and closing the basic payment account; 2) depositing funds; 3) withdrawing cash in the territory of an EEA state; 4) executing payment transactions by direct debit, by payment card, by credit transfer, at bank terminals, at the credit institution's offices and in the credit institution's online services.
About this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Talletuspankin on tarjottava 1 momentissa tarkoitettuja palveluita yhtä laajasti kuin se jo tarjoaa niitä asiakkailleen, joilla on jokin muu maksutili kuin perusmaksutili. Talletuspankki ei saa rajoittaa 1 momentissa tarkoitettujen palveluiden tai sähköisen tunnistamisen palveluiden tapahtumamääriä. Talletuspankkien on tarjottava vahva sähköinen tunnistuspalvelu perusmaksutiliasiakkaalleen, jos se tarjoaa sitä muille asiakkaille.»Our translation - not official
A deposit bank must offer the services referred to in subsection 1 to the same extent as it already offers them to its customers who have a payment account other than a basic payment account. A deposit bank may not limit the number of transactions of the services referred to in subsection 1 or of the electronic identification services. Deposit banks must offer a strong electronic identification service to their basic payment account customer if they offer it to other customers.
The sentence that turns a bank account into access to the Finnish state's online services.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Asiakkailta veloitettavien maksujen tulee olla kohtuullisia ja vastattava niistä talletuspankille aiheutuvia todellisia kustannuksia. Maksujen kohtuullisuutta arvioitaessa tulee huomioida ainakin kansallinen tulotaso ja maksutilipalveluista keskimäärin veloitettavat maksut.»Our translation - not official
The fees charged to customers must be reasonable and correspond to the actual costs incurred by the deposit bank. When assessing the reasonableness of the fees, at least the national income level and the fees charged on average for payment account services must be taken into account.
Compare Sweden, whose record finds a right to a basic account with no cap on what it costs.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Directive 2014/92/EU was not read for this record. The quotations are from the Finnish statute.
The Money Laundering Act (444/2017) was not read. What a bank may actually require by way of identity documents, and what justifies a refusal under it, is not stated here.
No bank's own terms were read, and no fee figure is stated. Chapter 15, section 6 c requires banks to report on basic accounts and section 6 d requires a comparison website; neither was consulted.
The Financial Supervisory Authority's binding regulations under chapter 15, section 19 a were not read.
- consolidatesLaki luottolaitostoiminnasta, consolidated text of 9 July 2026
Finlex, oikeusministeriö · consolidated to 2026-07-09
About this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesLaki luottolaitostoiminnasta, consolidated text of 9 July 2026
Finlex, oikeusministeriö · consolidated to 2026-07-09
About this source
Finland's state legal information service, run by the Ministry of Justice. It publishes the Suomen säädöskokoelma - the statute series, where an Act takes effect on publication - and, separately, the ajantasainen consolidated text of each Act with later amendments worked into it. Every statute carries an ELI identifier that states the date of the consolidated version, so the cut-off is on the page rather than inferred: the Aliens Act 301/2004 was read at http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2004/301/ajantasa/2026-06-26/fin. The site is bilingual by law and serves Finnish and Swedish texts of the same statute at the same address; Finnish is the language quoted here. It also carries unofficial English translations under /lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset/.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The English translations are not the instrument and must never be quoted as one - they are produced by ministries, carry their own amendment cut-offs separate from the Finnish text's, and several are years behind it. The consolidated text is the right thing to quote for what the law is now, but it prints provisions that are not yet in force alongside those that are, each marked with its own commencement date: the Nationality Act consolidation of 16 June 2026 carries the 2027 citizenship-exam wording of section 13 directly beneath the wording in force. A reader who takes the first paragraph they see has a one-in-two chance of reading next year's law. The consolidation also lags the statute series, and each statute's page lists the government bills pending on it; those bills are not law and must not be cited as if they were. The original statute as enacted is a different document at a different address under /lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/ and does not carry amendments.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source