The Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency (IGCP) has reinforced security procedures for savings accounts, and the new rules are now in effect. In a social media post, the Ministry of Finance detailed the measures:
“To enhance the security of savers, the IGCP will now validate the correspondence between the tax identification number (NIF) and the IBAN registered in savings accounts, ensuring they indeed belong to the account holder,” the ministry stated in the post.
The Executive highlighted two important points:
- “Whenever this correspondence cannot be confirmed, the account will be temporarily immobilized until the saver provides updated proof at an authorized service point”;
- “Updating personal data is thus indispensable to ensure the continuity of operations and strengthen the security of Savings products.”
New Rules Effective Monday
These new rules came into effect earlier this week: “Starting October 20, 2025, a new mandatory validation process for the tax identification number (NIF) / bank account number (IBAN) associated with savings accounts will be implemented,” stated the IGCP.
The aim is “to ensure that the NIF and IBAN indeed belong to the account holder, preventing fraud and reinforcing the integrity of operations.”
Starting this Monday, a new mandatory validation process for the tax identification number (NIF) / bank account number (IBAN) associated with savings accounts will be implemented.
Notícias ao Minuto | 08:13 – 20/10/2025
If the correspondence between the NIF and the registered IBAN cannot be confirmed, “the savings account will be temporarily immobilized, requiring savers to visit an authorized service point (CTT stores or the Citizen Spaces Network published on the IGCP website) and present an updated proof of the IBAN,” explained the agency managing public debt.
Court Warns of Prescription Risks
The Court of Accounts (TdC) identified risks of prescription for Savings and Treasury Certificates worth 1.174 billion euros, partly because the IGCP is unable to pay families due to immobilized accounts or deceased holders.
According to the report on the General State Account (CGE) for 2024, there was an “increase in balances held by the IGCP (spanning a long period – 2005 to 2024), maintenance in the stock of possibly prescribed securities (due to lack of information) and others at risk of prescription.”
The identified risks include 603 million euros in the debt stock, relative to instruments owned by 16,782 holders (deceased or with other balances held by the IGCP, immobilized or on demand), as well as 494 million in the debt stock, relating to 56,759 accounts without cross-referenced information with the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN).
Read Also: There are Abandoned Savings Certificates: Why? Who Will They Go To?
