Banks, Financial Services, Good for Business, Lithuania

The requirement for banks to provide their retail customers with access to such a basket has been in place since early February.

According to Jurate Butkute, the chief economist at the Bank of Lithuania's Market Infrastructure Policy Unit, companies' needs for payment services differ depending on their size and type of activity, and so do banks' offers for these companies.

Major companies negotiate with banks on services and fees on an individual basis, the economist noted.

"Offers to businesses do include the concept of a payment basket when a certain package of services is provided at a fixed fee. Private individuals are seen as a weaker party in negotiations with banks than businesses. Therefore, the (EU) Payment Accounts Directive and the (Lithuanian) Law on Payments provide for a restriction on the price of basic payment services only in respect of (retail) customers," she told the paper.