Latvia's Ministry of Finance drafts amendments to let municipal social services obtain clients’ bank account statements directly from banks

Latvia's Ministry of Finance, working with the Ministry of Welfare, has prepared draft amendments to the Credit Institutions Law that would allow municipal social services to obtain applicants’ account statement information directly from credit institutions and the postal payment system, simplifying documentation for social services and social assistance. The draft is scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 28 April. Based on a person’s application and a request from the social service, the amendments would give social services the right to receive account statement data for a specified period, including information on payments, securities, investments, savings and account balances. The aim is to replace the current practice in which individuals must obtain and submit account statements themselves, which can require in-person requests and fees and can be difficult for people without internet banking access or sufficient digital skills. The data would be provided in an automated way, reducing administrative burden for applicants and municipal social services. The changes are linked to the Ministry of Welfare’s DigiSoc project to develop a unified digital platform for administering social services and social assistance, integrating existing systems and adding analytics and statistics functionality. The new procedure is planned to take effect in 2027 alongside the rollout of DigiSoc.