The Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública (IGCP) has announced enhancements to the security protocols for savings certificates by implementing a new mandatory validation process for taxpayer identification numbers (NIF) and associated bank account numbers (IBAN).
“Starting October 20, 2025, a new mandatory validation process will be implemented for the taxpayer identification number (NIF) and associated bank account number (IBAN) linked to savings accounts,” stated IGCP. The goal is to ensure that the NIF and IBAN legitimately belong to the account holder, thereby preventing fraud and boosting the integrity of transactions.
If the correspondence between the NIF and IBAN cannot be verified, the savings account will be temporarily immobilized. In such a case, account holders are advised to visit an authorized service point (such as CTT stores or Citizen Space Networks listed on IGCP’s website) and provide updated IBAN documentation, explained the agency that manages public debt.
The IGCP provides a simulator for Savings Certificates to help calculate the growth of investments in these products. Users are invited to perform calculations.
The Tribunal de Contas (TdC) has identified risks of prescription concerning Savings and Treasury Certificates amounting to 1.174 billion euros, partly due to IGCP’s inability to pay families because of immobilized accounts or deceased account holders.
According to the report on the 2024 General State Account (CGE), there has been an increase in balances held by IGCP (spanning a long time frame from 2005 to 2024) in the stock of debt potentially prescribed due to a lack of information and others at risk of prescription.
The identified risks include 603 million euros in the debt stock related to instruments belonging to 16,782 holders (either deceased or with other balances held, immobilized, or on demand by IGCP) and 494 million in the debt stock connected to 56,759 accounts with no correlatable information from the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN).
Additionally, there are still 77 million euros held by IGCP (47 million in immobilized accounts and 30 million on demand) associated with 6,710 holders, which the entity cannot disburse due to payment execution challenges or immobilization due to the holder’s death.
Most of the amount is linked to series C savings certificates, with a significant portion associated with deceased holders, but substantial values exist for other reasons as well. There are immobilized accounts potentially due to court orders or liens, while issues with closed accounts and IBAN problems are prevalent in demand accounts.
The TdC also noted that these 77 million are not reflected in the CGE as they should be in ‘payable balances.’ The report warns that without the flexibility of certain rules and effective communication strategies, converting Savings Certificates may result in interest losses for families.
