“Aghast”, “scandalized”… The change in legislation around bank overdrafts sparked strong reactions from our readers. Last week, we invited you to testify to discuss the entry of overdrafts of less than 200 euros (or less than one month) into the category of consumer credit, as provided for by a European directive which will come into force in France in 2026. In addition to its eruptive nature, this change of a legal nature triggers numerous questions which we tried to answer with Maître Laurent Denis, lawyer specializing in banking law.
Christophe, for example, regrets this measure which seems to him “to be a punishment for modest people”but, above all, he questions: “I have an honorable retirement, but with significant expenses: my house, and the financial assistance that I provide to a friend, who is a single mother. I end the months with an overdraft of around 1,000 euros, but which is covered by the next pension. How will my case be handled in the future?”
For Christophe, no change to fear a priori, since overdrafts of more than 200 euros already fell into the category of consumer credit. According to Laurent Denis, banks would have no reason to put an end to this type of practice: “By looking at the history of their customers, banks can already know if they have the capacity to repay the overdraft granted with their income from next month.” Also, if your pension covers your overdraft every month, Christophe, you should still be able to benefit from this overdraft facility.
For his part, Boris also fears a negative reform for low-income households: “This measure will further weaken the poorest, because the banks will have even more powers when they already have a lot. Here, we transform the overdraft into a revolving credit and it is unfair like the agios, because the majority of people do not resort to overdrafts for pleasure, but because they have no other choice.
Will overdrafts become more expensive?
It is true that the term “consumer credit” can evoke revolving or renewable credit, which consists of providing the borrower with a reserve of money, which can be used at any time, and which is replenished as repayments are made. A type of credit whose rates can in fact be particularly high, and which is the cause of 85% of over-indebtedness cases according to the Banque de France. For Laurent Denis, it is not clear that the rates applied to overdrafts are becoming more expensive, like the rates for revolving credits.
On the contrary, “Bringing overdrafts of less than 200 euros into the consumer credit category will subject them to more regulated pricing. For consumer credits and now for all overdrafts up to 3,000 euros, the usury rate applies, and which cannot exceed 23% this year.explains the lawyer. However, this rate, which corresponds to the legal maximum that credit institutions are authorized to practice, is lower than what could be practiced until now for overdrafts of less than 200 euros.
According to UFC Que Choisir, the rates applied by banks, particularly through “fixed minimums” – fixed fees imposed on small overdrafts – can greatly exceed the usury rate. In an example given in his study on the subject published in April 2025, the annualized cost of a small overdraft could reach 26,000%… or 1,140 times the usury rate.
More “fangled” customers?
Finally, Claude fears more the solvency checks carried out by the banks, which should be more thorough with this new legislation: “I especially wonder about the solvency checks which I read everywhere that there will be more of them. Concretely, what will banks look at when granting overdrafts? And will the time to carry out these checks delay the deadline for granting an overdraft?
On this point, Laurent Denis wants to be reassuring: “Just because things become more restrictive or complicated for the bank does not necessarily mean that things become more complicated for customers.” In other words, we can hope that having to carry out more frequent checks will only have a limited impact on customers. Especially since for the lawyer, “banks are used to studying this type of loan. This involves carrying out an analysis based on income and expenses, the customer’s history and their ability to repay. They were already doing these solvency analyzes for overdrafts of more than 200 euros, so there is no reason why they should take longer to grant overdrafts.”
It remains to be seen what will happen to people deemed not sufficiently creditworthy by the banks. Received Wednesday, November 5 at the Ministry of the Economy, The National Union of Family Associations recalls that “the directive sets obligations and an ambition: that any customer who repeatedly exceeds their authorized overdraft be referred free of charge to counseling services for indebted people independent of creditors”and requests that this service be guaranteed by the creation of a fund managed by the State and supplemented by a voluntary contribution from the banks.
