Strengthening the effectiveness of the right to a bank account: Law No. 1.597 of 9 October 2026 amending Law No. 1.492 of 8 July 2020 on the establishment of the right to a bank account

Law No. 1.597 of 9 October 2026 amending Law No. 1.492 of 8 July 2020 on the introduction of the right to a bank account (JDM No. 8821 of 16 October 2026), passed on 5 October 2026, strengthens the right to a bank account.

It stems from Government Bill No. 1124 amending Law No. 1.492 of 8 July 2020 on the introduction of a right to a bank account, received by the Parliament on 13 March 2026, which itself stems from the reworking of Parliamentary Draft Law No. 263, adopted by the Parliament on 17 October 2024.

The Government has retained the main principles of the original text proposed by the Parliament, whilst making amendments. The parilamentary Committee on Finance and the National Economy has itself amended the original text of Bill No. 1124.

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Aim of the reform

The right to open a deposit and payment account with a Monegasque credit institution, which has been in force since 17 October 2020, was enshrined in Law No. 1.492 of 8 July 2020, supplemented by Ministerial Order No. 2020-664 of 5 October 2020 (list of documents to be provided).

• In the event of a refusal to open an account, the matter may be referred to the Budget and Treasury Department (DBT) for the purpose of designating a credit institution to proceed with the opening of the account.
• Law No. 1.492 originally provided for an appeal to the Monegasque courts under the ordinary procedure in the event of a refusal to open an account or a decision to unilaterally close an account opened by a designated credit institution.

The aim of the reform:

• to supplement the legal framework established in 2020 in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the right to a bank account,
• whilst ensuring that the exercise of the right to a bank account is compatible with international requirements regarding the fight against money laundering, financing of terrorism and of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT-P).

Thus, the reform is part of maintaining the balance between AML/CFT and financial inclusion, as understood by the work of MONEYVAL and the FATF:

• MONEYVAL: the right balance between a robust anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime and the development of inclusion policies and procedures (MONEYVAL Committee Report, "Strengthening financial integrity through financial inclusion", Council of Europe, 2014).
• FATF: ensure that AML/CFT compliance controls do not prevent access to formal financial services, defining AML/CFT measures consistent with financial inclusion objectives, while respecting global anti-crime rules (FATF, revised "Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Measures and Financial Inclusion", FATF/OECD, February 2013; between February 2021 and March 2022, work to identify and analyse the unintended consequences of the FATF recommendations, followed by the Update of FATF recommendations to better support financial inclusion (February 2025).

SUMMARY

Law No. 1.597 of 9 October 2026 makes the following improvements to the right to a bank account scheme established by Law No. 1.492:

• Setting time limits for the processing of applications to open a bank account with the chosen credit institution and with credit institutions designated by the Directorate of Budget and Treasury (DBT);
• Creation of a system of implied refusal entitling the applicant to refer the matter to the DBT;
• Inclusion of a provision whereby the DBT’s designation of a credit institution lapses if the applicant fails to respond to a request for the necessary documents;
• Extension of the right to a bank account to specific situations involving joint accounts (with a spouse, for example) and the closure of deposit accounts;
• Inclusion, amongst the grounds for rejecting an application to open an account, of convictions for offences relating to the freezing of funds and economic resources (Articles 219-1 to 219-4 of the Criminal Code);
• Administrative financial penalty incurred by credit institutions in the event of failure to issue the applicant with the certificate of refusal to open an account and failure to notify the applicant of the rejection of the application to open an account by the expiry of the prescribed time limits;
• Speeding up judicial proceedings by establishing a special appeal procedure against a decision refusing to open an account, or (newly) a failure to open an account within the prescribed time limit, or a decision to unilaterally close an account opened by a designated credit institution (before the President of the Court of First Instance ruling in summary proceedings).

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IN DETAIL

Law No. 1.597 of 9 October 2026 amends sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 of Law No. 1492 (“L”) and introduces new articles 3-1, 4-1, 12-1 and 12-3

¤ Opening of a deposit account upon application (Art. 3 L.)

The provisions of Article 3 L., as amended, shall apply, to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date on which this Law comes into force.

• (para. 1) Extension of the processing period for applications to open a deposit account with the chosen credit institution: 30 working days (instead of the current 15 working days) from receipt of all the necessary documents, the list of which is set out in Ministerial Order No. 2020-664, taking into account “the complexity of certain applications to open an account, particularly where they reveal the existence of financial arrangements with an international dimension; the sometimes extraterritorial nature of a credit institution’s administration where its head office is located abroad; and any negligence on the part of the applicant in providing the required documents” (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).
• (para. 2) Reminder of AML/CFT-P-C due diligence obligations: the credit institution shall request the necessary documents without prejudice to the documents and information required for the fulfilment of its due diligence obligations under Law No. 1.362 and Sovereign Order No. 2.318.
• (para. 3) Details regarding the application to open an account: the application to open a deposit account must be sent to the chosen institution by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, or by registered electronic mail with confirmation of delivery, or delivered in person at the counter in exchange for a receipt.
• (para. 4) Setting the starting point for the time limit granted to the institution to request the documents in writing, including, where applicable, in electronic form: no later than 30 working days from the date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application, or the date of the receipt for the application being handed in in person by the applicant at the counter.

¤ Explicit or implicit refusal to open a deposit account upon request (new Article 3-1 L.)

The provisions of Article 3-1 L., as amended, shall apply to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date on which this Law comes into force.

• (para. 1) The credit institution may justify a refusal to open an account on the grounds, in particular, that the applicant is entitled to a basic bank account. In such cases, it shall inform the applicant that they may ask the Directorate of Budget and Treasury (DBT) to designate a credit institution to open an account for them. This clarification aims to “enhance the transparency of the decision-making process, whilst upholding the principle of freedom of contract” (Report of the Committee on Finance and the National Economy on Bill No. 1124).
• (paras 2 and 3) In the event of an explicit refusal to open an account: the institution must provide the applicant free of charge and within 30 working days, in paper form or on any other durable medium where the applicant makes an express request, with a certificate confirming the refusal to open an account. Similarly, if the applicant makes an express request, the credit institution must specify the reasons for this refusal. These "provisions, modelled on the law of the neighbouring country, are thus in line with industry practice” (Report of the Committee on Finance and the National Economy on Bill No. 1124).
• (paras 4 and 5) Addition of the implied refusal to open an account : If a credit institution fails to respond within 30 working days of the date of the acknowledgement of receipt, or of the receipt issued upon hand-delivery of the application to open an account at the counter, this shall be deemed to constitute an implied refusal to open the account. The same applies where the credit institution remains silent upon the expiry of the 30 working days following receipt of the missing documents requested from the applicant. "In doing so, the Prince’s Government wished to prevent any potential delay by a credit institution in issuing the certificate of refusal to open an account. The recognition of an implied refusal is intended to enable the account applicant to refer the matter to the Directorate of Budget and Treasury without having to provide proof of an explicit refusal"(Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).
• (para. 6) Where the certificate of refusal to open an account is not issued to the applicant, the applicant may inform the Budget and Treasury Directorate so that it may, where appropriate, the Minister of State to initiate administrative sanction proceedings against the credit institution in question, in accordance with the conditions set out in (new) Articles 12-1 to 12-3 of this Law (see below).
• In the event of an explicit refusal to open an account: the institution must provide the applicant, free of charge and within 45 working days, in paper form or on any other durable medium if the applicant expressly requests it, with a certificate of refusal to open an account and inform them that they may ask the Budget and Treasury Directorate (DBT) to designate a credit institution for them to open an account.
• Addition of implied refusal to open an account: failure by a credit institution to respond within 45 working days from the date of the acknowledgement of receipt, or from the date of the receipt for the application for account opening handed in person at the counter, shall be deemed an implied refusal to open the account. The same applies if the credit institution remains silent upon the expiry of the 45-working-day period following receipt of the missing documents requested from the applicant. "In doing so, the Prince’s Government wished to prevent any potential delay by a credit institution in issuing the certificate of refusal to open an account. The recognition of implied refusal is intended to enable the account applicant to refer the matter to the Budget and Treasury Department without having to provide proof of an explicit refusal’" (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).

¤ Referral to the Directorate of Budget and Treasury (DBT) in the event of refusal by the chosen credit institution (Art. 4 L.)

The provisions of Article 4 L., as amended, shall apply to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date of entry into force of this Law.

• (para. 1) Addition of the provision for referral to the DBT in the event of an implied refusal to open the account. "The person affected by such a refusal will therefore be able to refer the matter to the Directorate of Budget and Treasury by means of the postal or electronic acknowledgement of receipt, or the receipt for the hand-delivered application to open an account, said document serving as proof that the (...) response period has expired" (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).
• (para. 1) It is added that the DBT informs the credit institution of its designation and the applicant of the identity of the institution it has designated for the opening of the account. The parliamentary Committee on Finance and the National Economy has noted that the Budget and Treasury Directorate is ensuring that "no bank is designated by the administration unless it is in line with the applicant’s client profile", namely "suited to the applicant’s needs, particularly with regard to their professional activity or financial resources" (Report on Bill No. 1124).

¤ Framework governing the processing of applications to open an account with a credit institution designated by the DBT, and the lapse of such designation (new Art. 4-1 L.)

The provisions of Article 4-1 L., as amended, shall apply to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date of entry into force of this Law.

• (para 1) The designated credit institution must open the deposit account no later than 30 working days from receipt of all the necessary documents.
• (para. 2) It shall request the documents listed in a ministerial order, without prejudice to the fulfilment of its AML/CFT due diligence obligations and any documents whose disclosure is necessary for this purpose under the conditions laid down by Law No. 1.362 and Sovereign Order No. 2.318.
• (para. 3) The designated institution must request in writing, including, where applicable, in electronic form, any documents required to open the account, no later than 30 working days from the date of the acknowledgement of receipt of the application, or from the date of the receipt confirming that the applicant has handed in the application to open an account in person at the counter.
• (para. 4) The application to open a deposit account must be sent to the institution by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, or by registered electronic mail with acknowledgement of receipt, or delivered in person at the counter in exchange for a receipt.
• (para. 5) The designation of a credit institution by the DBT shall lapse if the applicant fails to respond within 60 working days of the request by that institution for the necessary documents (based on Article R312-7-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). The aim is “to encourage applicants to act diligently in their dealings with the designated credit institutions. In this regard, findings in recent years have shown that certain delays in the processing of applications to open accounts are due to applicants’ late submission of the required documents” (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).

¤ Extension of the right to an account to two specific situations (Art. 6 L.)

• (indent 1) Where a natural person holds a joint account (with their spouse, for example): this does not preclude the right to open an individual account under the conditions laid down by Law No. 1.492. Based on French legislation.
• (indent 2) Natural and legal persons who have been notified of the termination of their deposit account and who are entitled to the right to an account: they may apply to the DBT as soon as they receive notification of the termination of their account, without having to wait for the notice period to expire and the account to be closed before submitting an application.

¤ Circumstances in which credit institutions designated by the DBT may reject an application to open an account (Art. 8 L.)

• (para. 1) Grounds for refusal: inclusion in the item 1°) of convictions for breaches of procedures relating to the freezing of funds and economic resources (new references to Articles 219-1 to 219-4 of the Criminal Code); update regarding convictions for terrorism (new reference to Article 391-12-1 of the Criminal Code; deletion of the item “3°) in the event of a conviction under Articles 2 to 12 of the Sovereign Order No. 15.320 of 8 April 2002 on the suppression of the financing of terrorism, as amended "which has become obsolete as the corresponding offences are now covered by the Criminal Code").
• (para. 2) Decision to reject an application by a designated credit institution: it is added that this decision is the subject of a written notification within the time limits laid down in Article 4-1, sent to the applicant free of charge, and is communicated to the DBT for information purposes ; and that it must be substantiated by reference to one or more of the grounds set out in the para. 1 except where such reasons would contravene the objectives of national security or the maintenance of public order (as already provided for in Article 10 of Law No. 1.492 concerning unilateral termination at the initiative of a designated credit institution).
  The provisions of Article 8 para. 2 L., as amended, shall apply to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date of entry into force of this Law.
• (para. 3) Failure to notify the decision to reject the application: it is added that, in such cases, the applicant may inform the Directorate of Budget and Treasury (DBT), so that it may, where appropriate, refer the matter to the Minister of State to initiate administrative sanction proceedings against the credit institution concerned, in accordance with the conditions set out in (new) Articles 12-1 to 12-3 of the Law (see below).
• (para. 4) It is added that a person whose application to open a deposit account has been refused by a credit institution designated by the DBT may apply again to the DBT pursuant to Article 4 L. to have a new credit institution designated for the opening of an account. This provision “enshrines the already established practice whereby any person whose application to open a deposit account has been refused by a credit institution designated by the Directorate of Budget and Treasury may refer the matter to the Directorate of Budget and Treasury again for the same purpose” (Explanatory Memorandum to Bill No. 1124).
• (para. 5) It is added that failure to open an account within the prescribed time limit may give rise to an appeal before the President of the Court of First Instance, sitting in summary proceedings, to which the matter is referred by way of a writ of summons.

¤ Speeding up judicial proceedings through the creation of an urgent appeal procedure (Articles 8 and 9 L.)

The ordinary procedure that was in place before the reform “involves procedural delays that are often incompatible with the requirement, on the one hand, of urgency linked to the economic and social needs arising from the right to a bank account, and on the other hand, of speed and reasonable time limits enshrined in Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”. (Explanatory memorandum to parliamentary draft law No. 263)

Remedies against the rejection of an application to open an account, or (new) failure to open an account within the prescribed time limit, or unilateral closure of a deposit account opened pursuant to the right to a bank account by the designated credit institution:

• Application to the President of the Court of First Instance sitting in summary proceedings, brought by way of a writ of summons.
• Pending cases: cases which fall within the jurisdiction of the President of the Court of First Instance sitting in summary proceedings shall continue before the court before which they are already pending.

¤ Opening an account following closure (Art. 11 L.)

• (para. 1) It is added that, in the event of a unilateral closure of an account opened by a designated credit institution pursuant to Article 9 L., the account holder must, in order to have a new account opened, apply to a credit institution of their choice, pursuant to Article 3 L.
• (para. 2) Henceforth, a person whose account has been closed due to a conviction for an offence listed in Article 8 L. must apply to open an account, once the sentence has been served, with an institution of their choice pursuant to Article 3 L.

¤ Exemption from liability for credit institutions (except in cases of fraudulent collusion) where an account is opened on the instructions of the DBT (Art. 12 L.)

• (para. 1) Update to the list of offences for which no liability may be incurred, with the addition of Articles 391-7-1 to 391-7-3 of the Criminal Code relating to the suppression of terrorism and the financing of terrorism.

¤ Administrative financial penalty in the event of credit institutions failing to comply with the obligations set out in the second paragraphs of Articles 3-1 (failure to issue a certificate of refusal to open an account to the applicant) and 8 (failure to notify the applicant of the rejection of the application to open an account by the expiry of the prescribed time limits) (new Articles 12-1 to 12-3 L.)

The provisions of Articles 12-1 to 12-3, as amended, shall apply to applications to open a deposit account submitted after the date of entry into force of this Law.

• Failure by the credit institution to comply with these obligations is punishable by an administrative fine, imposed by the Minister of State, the amount of which may not exceed 10,000 euros, depending on the seriousness or recurrence of the breach or breaches.
• This penalty may only be imposed following a documentary review to assess any breaches, in accordance with the conditions laid down by sovereign order.
• Before any decision is taken, the Minister of State must notify in writing the credit institution concerned of the breaches identified, the legal obligations that have been breached and the penalty envisaged against it, and must invite it to submit any comments it may have, within 10 days.
• The fine imposed must be paid to the Monaco Treasury within 60 days of the date of notification.
• This financial penalty may be challenged by way of an administrative appeal before the Court of First Instance within two months of the date of notification.

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