You have the option of applying to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for administrative proceedings against a payment service provider such as a bank or savings bank if

• the latter rejects your application to conclude a basic payment account agreement, or
• the decision on your application to open an account or to complete the opening of the basic payment account is delayed by more than 10 business days.

A payment service provider may only reject your application for a basic payment account if:

• you already have and can use a current account (technical term: payment account) with another company in Germany,
• within the last 3 years for an intentional criminal offence against
  • the payment service provider,
  • one of its employees,
  • one of his clients has been convicted,
• you already had a basic payment account with the same payment service provider and they terminated your basic payment account contract within the last year before submitting your application because you were in default of payment or because you used your account for prohibited purposes, or
• Provisions on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing require the bank to refuse to open an account.

With your application for an administrative procedure, BaFin checks whether the payment service provider has rightly rejected your application for a basic payment account.
If the payment service provider wrongly refuses to open a basic payment account, BaFin will order it to open your basic account.
Note: If you have submitted your application for a basic payment account, the payment service provider must offer you the conclusion of a basic payment agreement within 10 business days or notify you in writing of a rejection of the application within the same period.