"Inactivity fees" are due to a French legal requirement called "Eckert law", which applies to French banks, credit establishments and payment services companies.
So, what are those inactivity fees?
Eckert law (2008) requires credit, banks and all payment services companies to check that their clients are still able to use their accounts after a period of "inactivity". If it isn't the case, the accounts have to be closed.
What we mean by "inactivity"
For current accounts, French law states that "inactive" users are users who haven't performed any operation on their account over 12 consecutive months.
Lydia considers that users are "inactive" when they haven't opened nor used the app or contacted Lydia in 12 consecutive months. Lydia then tries to contact the user via email several times.
Communications sent to the user
After a period of inactivity of 12 months, Lydia sends a first email to the user offering them to :
- keep their account by simply replying to this email or by logging in to the Lydia application (which will be considered as a sign of activity);
- close their account.
If the user doesn't answer or take any action, a reminder is sent 7 days later.
If the user doesn't answer or take any action following this reminder, the user is considered inactive 15 days later. They are notified via email.
How much are these “inactivity fees”?
If the user doesn't reply to any of the two first communications (detailed above) and doesn't log in to the application either, fees linked to the detection and verification of their inactivity may apply.
- If there isn't any money on the user's Lydia accounts, Lydia doesn't debit any inactivity fees.
- If there is money on the user's Lydia accounts, Lydia has to redistribute the remaining balance to the "Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations" after 10 years and then close the account. The user then has 20 years to claim the remaining balance to this organization. As this procedure has a cost for Lydia, Lydia debits "inactivity fees" every year. Their amount is strictly capped by French law. These fees are debited on the user's Lydia account on the 13th month of inactivity. Their amount can be checked on our Pricing & Limits page.