Financial education

How do you know how many bank accounts are in your name? Here's how to find out

Today you can find out how to find out how many bank accounts are in your name. With this, avoid financial confusion and have the best possible control over your finances!

See how to find out how many bank accounts are in your name

homem sentado em banco de praça mexendo no celular — Learn how to know how many bank accounts are in your name. Source: Pexels.

Knowing how many bank accounts are in your name is essential to have good financial control. After all, you may have valuables saved that you don't even know you own.

Or, you may be paying maintenance fees for an account that you don't even know exists in your name. Complicated, right? So, it's better to be safe!

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The good news is that Banco de Portugal offers a way for you to track accounts opened in your name.

Access to the information is free and can give you new insights into your finances. Want to know more? Keep reading and see how to track your accounts for free.

How do you know how many bank accounts are in your name? Discover the Bank of Portugal's Map of Accounts

The Map of Accounts is a document developed by Banco de Portugal that identifies which accounts are in the name of an individual or company.

Whenever an account is opened, the bank must inform Banco de Portugal of this fact. So he records it on the map. This helps in controlling financial circulation and creating a consumer profile, for example.

At the same time, it is also interesting for the consumer, who can have greater control over the accounts that are in their name.

In fact, this also helps in recognizing fraud. For example, when someone opens an account or contracts a financial service on behalf of a third party.

What is the information in the Map of Accounts?

In this document you can find the following information about the account:

Home institution;
Account number;
Type of relationship between the banking institution and the consumer;
Opening date and closing date of each account;
Account Type.

Therefore, the map provides very complete information that helps you with financial control.

Which accounts appear in the Account Map?

There are 4 types of accounts that can appear in the account map:

Deposit;
Payments;
Of financial instruments;
Credit.

How to obtain the Map of Accounts?

Check out the step-by-step guide on how to have the Account Map and find out which bank accounts are in your name:

To get started, go to the Banco de Portugal website;
On the home page, click on “Private” at the top right of the screen;
Afterwards, click on the “Account Database” option.
At this point, read the access conditions and accept them;
Then click on “Get Map”;
To proceed, you must provide your access credentials to the Finance Portal or use your Citizen Card with its own reader;
Finally, after identifying yourself, the system will give you access to the Account Map. Just download it to save it on your computer or cell phone.

How to read the Chart of Accounts?

See what expressions are contained in the account map and learn how to read the document to find out which bank accounts are in your name:

Information communicated by the institution: indicates which institution (payment, deposit or banking) communicated the opening of an account in your name;
Account number: numerical sequence that indicates what your account is;
Type of account: bank deposit, payment, credit or financial instruments;
Account subtype: informs types of deposits or credit products;
Opening and Closing: indicate, respectively, the date the account was opened and the date it closed, if it has already occurred;
Relationship: indicates whether you are one of the account holders or whether you have another relationship with it, such as authorization from the holder to use it.
Beginning: refers to the beginning of the third-party relationship (in which case you do not own the account, but can operate it), which is different from the opening date.

What to do with the Map of Accounts data?

imagem de uma pessoa pesquisando no computador quantas contas bancárias estão em seu nome — It is possible to close disused accounts, for example. Source: Pexels.

Once you know which bank accounts are in your name, you can take some actions. See what they are!

Find out the status of your accounts

For example, if you have forgotten accounts that you opened but left aside, try to contact the bank. Find out if there is a balance or if there is any debt on the account.

After all, if it required the payment of maintenance fees, it is possible that any balance would have been consumed, at least in part, by it. Also, that you are in debt to the institution.

Even if this is not the case, by contacting the bank you can find out the remaining balance and thus redeem it.

Close disused accounts

Additionally, close accounts that are not used. Mainly those that existed, but were erased from memory due to lack of use.

So, just resolve the pending issues relating to these accounts and close them. This makes it easier to manage your finances, avoids financial confusion and eliminates unnecessary fees.

Accounts not recognized by you

On the other hand, if there is an account opened in your name that you do not recognize, contact the bank. In this case, you may have been the victim of fraud.

It is not uncommon for scammers to open accounts or contract various financial services in the name of a consumer.

Therefore, inform the institution that it was not you who opened the account, find out the situation it is in and whether other services have been contracted.

The banking institution will guide you on what to do in this situation. So please get in touch as soon as possible.

Obtain the Account Map periodically

Finally, remember to obtain the Account Map to know which bank accounts are in your name on a regular basis. So, keep track of your financial data and protect yourself against fraud!

And, if you want to know more about financial education, bank accounts and possible outstanding debts, find more information about the Banco de Portugal blacklist below!

Find out if you are on the Banco de Portugal blacklist and how to get out: step by step!

Knowing whether you are on the Banco de Portugal blacklist is essential for everyone who has contracts with financial services. Learn today how to check if you are on the list and how to get off it!

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About the author / Aline Augusto

My name is Aline Mesquita, I'm a writer here on the blog, where I write about finance in general, as well as other topics. I have been working with content creation for 10 years, with a postgraduate degree in Project Management, with expertise in SEO practices, in addition to studying finance, market trends and cryptocurrencies.