The European Parliament has voted to make the right to a bank account a legal right for all EU residents.
The vote gives the 30m unbanked EU residents who want an account the right to a basic bank account at little or no cost.
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Jim Murray, head of the European Foundation for Financial Inclusion (EUFFI), said: "This vote will help those who are "living the single market" by studying, working or living cross-border, and many others who for one reason or another have no bank account where they live.
"Nowadays, for most people a bank account is a gateway to other services and an essential element for full participation in modern society."
Voting in favour of the motion first proposed by the EU Commission, the parliament recommended that EU member states should offer a basic payment account option to those who need it.
The EU Commission called on member states to take measures to raise awareness regarding the availability of the accounts, especially in relation to unbanked, vulnerable and mobile consumers.
At the launch of an EUFFI study into new payment technologies earlier in the year, the commissioner for the internal market and services, Michel Barnier, said:
"There can be no sustainable economic development if there is no social cohesion."
EU member states are now in talks to agree a unified approach before the EU Parliament Act is formally adopted.
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