The battle to decide the future of the “forgotten” bank accounts of Mexican savers intensifies.
Daniel Becker, president of the Association of Banks of Mexico ( ABM ), said Wednesday that he has already met twice with Senator Ricardo Monreal from Moreno and that the union will deliver an alternative proposal to the official reform to the upper house.
The government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented a proposal a few days ago that seeks to allocate the money from the ” abandoned accounts ” to public security.
“(The proposal) is that even if six years pass and the client authenticates the resources, which are not illicit, with the beneficiaries (…) that the government has the obligation to return those resources,” said Becker after leaving the inauguration of the National Week of Financial Education.
Later, Becker said that they have not submitted a formal proposal but that they are building arguments to protect savers.
The representative of the banks said that they will bring before the senators a list of international practices so that they take into account how the resource is used in other countries. For example, in the UK, the length of time an account can be “dormant” is up to 15 years.
Becker said that it is important to round out the laws with “best practices” and taking into account what happens in other countries to guarantee that the client has certainty of his resources.
“In banking we want to protect Mexican savers and for them to continue trusting, for them to be convinced that banking is the safest place to save,” said Becker.
What happens to the money in an inactive bank account?
Daniel Becker said that before the 3 years of an “inactive” or “abandoned” account expire, banks give clients 90 days notice that they must make a movement before the money in that account goes to the bank. charity.
The banker invited bank customers to update their information such as beneficiaries, telephone number and address to avoid problems in the future.
