A Right to a Basic Account That No Bank May Refuse on Your Income, Your Job or Your Address - Decided Within Ten Business Days
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Belize on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
172 exceptions recorded across 63 countries · none match Belize to Malta · Opening a bank account
Malta transposed the Union's payment accounts directive as S.L. 371.18, and the result is a right rather than a service. Regulation 19(1) makes consumers legally resident in Malta or in another Member State eligible to open and use a payment account with basic features, and regulation 19(2) adds that the right applies irrespective of where the consumer lives - so being resident in another Member State is enough to open an account in Malta. Regulation 19(3) spells out who counts as legally resident, and the list is deliberately wide: consumers with no fixed address, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary or other protection, stateless persons, asylum seekers and even failed or rejected asylum seekers, and people with no residence permit whose expulsion is impossible for legal or factual reasons. The protection that matters most is in regulation 19(4A): a credit institution shall not refuse to open such an account on the basis of the consumer's financial circumstances, including employment status, level of income, credit history or personal bankruptcy. Regulation 19(7) adds that banks may not build procedures designed to dissuade people from exercising the right. Every credit institution with five or more branches in Malta must offer the account, through its whole branch network, and must decide within ten business days of a completed application. The services must be free of charge or for a reasonable fee, with reasonableness judged against national income levels and what other Maltese banks charge. Two limits are written in. Regulation 19(3A) lets a bank require a consumer to show a genuine interest in opening the account; and regulation 1(7) subjects the whole right to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations, which is the provision a bank will reach for when documents are missing.
At a glance
- Who is eligible
- Any consumer legally resident in Malta or in another Member State
Regulation 19(1) of S.L. 371.18, and regulation 19(2) adds that the right applies irrespective of the consumer's place of residence.
- Who counts as legally resident
- Including people with no fixed address, protection beneficiaries, stateless persons, asylum seekers and rejected asylum seekers
Regulation 19(3) of S.L. 371.18, which extends to consumers with no residence permit whose expulsion is impossible for legal or factual reasons.
- Grounds a bank may not refuse on
- Employment status, level of income, credit history or personal bankruptcy
Regulation 19(4A) of S.L. 371.18.
- Which banks must offer it
- Credit institutions with five or more branches in Malta, through their whole branch network
Regulation 18(1) of S.L. 371.18. Banks with four branches or fewer may offer it, and Part 4 then applies to them too.
- Time to decide
- 10 business days from recorded receipt of the completed application
Regulation 21 of S.L. 371.18, which requires the institution to open or refuse to open the account without undue delay within that period.
- Cost
- Free of charge or for a reasonable fee, whatever the number of operations
Regulation 30(1) of S.L. 371.18. Reasonableness is judged against national income levels and the average fees other Maltese credit institutions charge, under regulation 30(3).
- What a bank may still require
- That you show a genuine interest in opening the account
Regulation 19(3A) of S.L. 371.18, to be applied in full respect of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaties.
- What the right is subject to
- Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations
Regulation 1(7) of S.L. 371.18, and regulation 22(1) requires refusal where opening the account would breach them.
- Obstructive procedures
- Prohibited
Regulation 19(7) of S.L. 371.18 bars policies or procedures imposing unnecessary, difficult or burdensome restrictions to dissuade a consumer from exercising the right.
Requirements
- Be a consumer legally resident in Malta or in another Member State - which the regulations define very broadly
- Apply to a credit institution with a branch network in Malta
- Be able to show a genuine interest in opening the account, if the bank asks
- Satisfy the anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing requirements, which the right is expressly subject to
- Not already hold a payment account with the same features at another credit institution in Malta
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Belize
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
«19. (1) Consumers legally resident in Malta or in another Eligibility criteria. Member State shall be eligible to open and use a payment account with Amended by: L.N. 324 of 2018. basic features. (2) Such a right to open and use a payment account with basic features as indicated in sub-regulation (1) shall apply irrespective of the consumer’s place of residence.»"Eligibility criteria. Amended by: L.N. 324 of 2018." is the margin note, which the extraction splits across the sentence.
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The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
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«(3) For the purposes of sub-regulation (1), consumers legally resident in Malta or in another Member State shall include: (a) consumers with no fixed address; (b) persons who may be granted any status as promulgated under the International Protection Act or any other Cap. 420. national legislation, where such persons may include refugees, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and, or beneficiaries of other forms of humanitarian or international protection, stateless persons, asylum seekers and failed or rejected asylum seekers;»"Cap. 420." is the margin reference to the International Protection Act. Paragraphs (c) and (d) extend the list further, to consumers whose expulsion is impossible for legal or factual reasons.
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The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
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«''legally resident in Malta or in another Member State '' means where a natural person has the right to reside in Malta or in another Member State by virtue of EU or national law, including consumers with no fixed address and persons seeking asylum under the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951»The doubled apostrophes and the space before the closing quotation mark are the publisher's.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
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«(4A) Credit institutions shall not refuse to open a payment account with basic features on the basis of the consumers’ financial circumstances, including their employment status, level of income, credit history or personal bankruptcy.»The provision most worth citing to a bank that says no.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(3A) Credit institutions may, in full respect of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaties , require consumers who wish to open a payment account with basic features, to show a genuine interest in doing so.»The space before the comma after "Treaties" is the publisher's. The regulations do not say what a genuine interest is.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(7) Credit institutions shall not introduce or implement any policies or procedures which may directly or indirectly impose any unnecessary, difficult, or burdensome restrictions or processes to dissuade the consumer from exercising such rights as they arise under this regulation.»About this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«18. (1) Credit institutions with a branch network in Malta payment account having five or more branches shall offer a payment account with with basic features.»"Right of access to a payment account with basic features." is the margin note, which the extraction interleaves word by word, producing the repeated "with".
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«institution shall open or refuse to open the account without undue Amended by: delay, and no later than ten business days from recorded receipt of L.N. 324 of 2018. the completed application.»The clock runs from recorded receipt of the completed application, so a request for a further document restarts it in practice.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
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«30. (1) Credit institutions shall offer the services linked to a Substituted by: payment account with basic features referred to in regulations 25 to L.N. 324 of 2018. 29 free of charge or for a reasonable fee, irrespective of the number of operations executed on the payment account with basic features.»Regulation 30(3) requires reasonableness to be set by reference to "(a) national income levels; (b) average fees charged by other credit institutions in Malta for services provided on payment accounts."
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(7)§ The opening and use of a payment account with basic features pursuant to these regulations shall be in conformity with any anti- money laundering and combating the funding of terrorism obligation arising from applicable law.»The section mark is the publisher's footnote reference. This is the provision that qualifies everything else, and regulation 22(1) turns it into a duty to refuse.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
This is a right to a basic payment account, not a right to any account a bank offers. Regulation 25(1) sets out what the basic account must contain - opening, operating and closing, placing funds, cash withdrawals in Malta and other Member States at counters and at machines, and the execution of payment transactions - and a bank is free to decline anything beyond that.
The eligibility definition is the part worth carrying to the counter. A consumer who is legally resident in another Member State and not in Malta is still eligible under regulation 19(2), and a consumer with no fixed address is expressly included by regulation 19(3).
Where a refusal happens it will usually be framed as an anti-money-laundering matter, because regulation 1(7) makes the right subject to those obligations and regulation 22(1) requires refusal where opening the account would breach them. A refusal framed as being about income, employment or credit history is the one regulation 19(4A) forbids.
This record rests on S.L. 371.18 as consolidated. No bank's terms were read, and no finding here is a statement about what any particular Maltese bank does.
- consolidatesCredit Institutions and Financial Institutions (Payment Accounts) Regulations, S.L. 371.18
Laws of Malta
About this source
The Government of Malta's statute book, published on the internet by the Minister responsible for the Law Commission under article 12 of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 (Act XL of 2021). It carries the Constitution, every Chapter of the revised edition with amendments incorporated, every piece of subsidiary legislation under them, and Acts and Legal Notices as enacted. Addresses follow a stable ELI shape: /eli/cap/<n>/<lang>/pdf for a Chapter, /eli/sl/<chapter>.<n>/<lang>/pdf for subsidiary legislation, /eli/act/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf and /eli/ln/<year>/<n>/<lang>/pdf for instruments as made, and /eli/const/<lang>/pdf for the Constitution. Both official languages are served at the same address with eng or mlt substituted. Article 12(4) of the 2021 Act gives the text on this site a statutory presumption: unless proof is brought to the contrary it is deemed to be a true representation of the law, incorporating all amendments up to the date indicated on the site.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It is not the authentic text. Under article 10(2) of the Statute Law Revision Act, 2021 the authentic text is the revised edition itself, which is the sole and only proper text in all Courts of Justice; the internet publication carries only the rebuttable presumption in article 12(4), so the site is official but defeasible. Two consequences follow for citation. First, the presumption runs only up to the date indicated on the site, and that date appears on the HTML page rather than inside the PDF, so a PDF taken on its own states no cut-off and none should be invented for it. Second, where the Maltese and English texts conflict the Maltese prevails - article 74 of the Constitution for any law, article 10(3) of the 2021 Act for a revised edition - so an English quotation here is the subordinate text and should not be relied on against a Maltese one. It cannot be cited for administrative practice at all: who may apply, what documents are wanted and what a programme currently charges in processing terms are matters for Identita, the Residency Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Revenue, and the instruments repeatedly delegate them to guidelines those bodies may issue.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source