The "inactivity fees" applied by Lydia Solutions are a consequence of the Eckert law which applies to payment and electronic money institutions.
Why do these fees exist?
The law of June 13, 2014, known as the "Eckert" law, required credit and payment institutions to verify that their customers were still able to use their accounts after a period of "inactivity" , and to close them if this was no longer the case.
Definition of "inactivity"
For current accounts, the account holder is considered "inactive" if they have not made any debit or credit transactions, nor expressed any intention to use the account during the last 12 months.
Lydia Solutions first suspects that a customer is "inactive" if they have not opened or used the Sumeria or Lydia app, or if they have not contacted customer service in the last 12 months. Lydia Solutions then verifies this by attempting to contact the customer by email on several occasions.
Communications sent to the client
On the twelfth month of inactivity (day D), Lydia Solutions sends a first email to the client offering them the following:
- keep your account by simply replying to the email or by logging back into the Sumeria or Lydia app (which will be considered an activity);
- close your account.
If there is no response or action from the customer, a reminder is sent 7 days later (D+7).
If the customer does not respond or take action after this reminder, they are considered inactive 15 days later (D+15). They are notified by email.
Amount of inactivity fees
If the customer does not respond to either of the first two communications (detailed above) and does not reconnect to the Sumeria or Lydia application, fees related to processing the detection and verification of their inactivity may apply.
- If the customer's account balance is zero, Lydia Solutions will not charge any inactivity fees.
- Otherwise, Lydia Solutions will apply a fee, up to a maximum of €30 per year, until the balance is depleted and for a maximum of 10 years. Beyond that point, the remaining balance will be transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French Deposits and Consignments Fund) and the customer account will be closed.
The customer retains the right to claim the transferred funds at any time from the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations via the official website
View the amounts of inactivity fees ->