Press release: Must focus more on companies' right to payment accounts

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has been tasked by the government to develop guidance to help banks meet their obligations regarding basic banking services, which includes the right to payment accounts. This is something that SweFinTech, the industry association for Swedish fintech companies, views positively.

At the same time, there is much more to be done regarding companies' right to open and maintain payment accounts, an issue the association has been pursuing for a long time.

Roslana Cederhage, Swedish Fintech Association

"This is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. Companies also need the conditions to start and run businesses, and then a payment account is needed. When they don't get it, Sweden's competitiveness is hampered," says SweFinTech's Director General Roslana Cederhage.

The problem with de-risking is serious and according to the Fintech Report 2025, 31 percent of fintech companies had been affected. SweFinTech requires that banks justify in writing why companies are denied accounts or have them closed, and have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

An analysis in the Riksbank's Payments Council's report on the right to a payment account shows that it is often people without a Swedish personal identity number who have problems opening a payment account, and that the reason in most cases is that the banks do not assess that they have sufficient customer knowledge. This means that international guest researchers and students, as well as other international expertise, have difficulty living and working in Sweden.

"Sweden risks losing important expertise if the problems with access to payment accounts continue. Instead, Swedish companies are turning to banks in Europe where they can open accounts. The fact that they cannot do so in Sweden is reckless and not okay," says Roslana Cederhage.