Bank accounts for minimum banking services in Portugal cannot, as a rule, present a negative balance, since credit institutions cannot associate an overdraft facility with this type of account nor allow tacitly accepted credit overruns. This means that customers do not have a credit limit to continue spending after exhausting the deposited money, and transfers, withdrawals and other transactions are only carried out when sufficient available balance exists.
There is, however, an exception provided for in the Bank of Portugal's rules for certain operations carried out with a debit card, including toll payments. In these cases, the account may temporarily go below zero, even without having a contracted overdraft facility. This situation occurs because some payments, such as tolls, are not communicated and debited immediately after they are made, and the information may only reach the bank later, when the holder may already have used the available money for other expenses.
The Bank of Portugal's wording is clear in stating that institutions "may allow" these operations, but are not obliged to do so. The handling of the operation depends on the characteristics of the payment, the card conditions and the institution's rules. For other types of payments, the card may be refused when there is insufficient balance, and there is no right for the customer to demand that all payments be completed.
The negative amount must be regularized by the holder, continuing to be owed to the institution. Any financial consequences should be checked in the account contract and the bank's fee schedule, as the Bank of Portugal does not establish a single charge applicable to all institutions. An isolated episode also does not constitute automatic grounds for closing the account. The article also recommends distinguishing between the accounting balance, which includes transactions already recorded, and the available balance, which shows the money that can be used without resorting to credit.
