What is “Legal Capacity” and Why Does It Matter for Your Bank Account?

What is “Legal Capacity” and Why Does It Matter for Your Bank Account?

She didn’t want special treatment — she just wanted the bank to explain the form she was to sign in simple language. Instead, the teller grew impatient. “Just sign it,” he snapped. When she asked him to speak more slowly, she was told, “I can’t talk like a snail.”

This experience, shared by a neurodiverse woman seeking to open a bank account, reveals a deeper issue: the denial of legal capacity. The right to understand, decide, and control your financial life.

In this article, we explore what legal capacity really means, and why it matters so profoundly for your bank account and your dignity.

Understanding Legal Capacity: The Right to Decide

Legal capacity is the right to make decisions and have those decisions respected under the law. It’s a foundational human right that affirms a person’s ability to enter into contracts, own property, manage finances, and access services on an equal basis with others.

For most people, this is taken for granted. But for many persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual, psychosocial, or visual disabilities, this right is routinely denied.

Without legal capacity, you are legally invisible.

Why Legal Capacity Matters in Banking

Banking is built on trust and autonomy. From opening an account to signing a loan agreement or receiving an ATM card, every step assumes that the individual has the legal right to act on their own behalf. When persons with disabilities are denied this right, they are excluded from a service, and they are denied dignity and independence.

Here’s what happens when legal capacity is not respected:

• A visually impaired person is told to appoint a guardian to manage their account.
• A deafblind customer is denied a debit card due to “security risks.”
• A woman with an intellectual disability is only allowed to open a joint account, never her own.
• A neurodiverse person is pressured to “just sign” without understanding complex banking terms.

These are not isolated incidents. They are systemic violations rooted in ableist assumptions — that persons with disabilities are inherently incapable of managing money.

 What the Law Says

Under international and national law, legal capacity is not conditional on disability.

• Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) declares that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.
• Kenya’s Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025 (Clause 7) affirms the right of persons with disabilities to own property, manage finances, and make legal decisions independently.

These provisions demand a shift: from substituted decision-making (like power of attorney forced on clients with disabilities) to supported decision-making, where people receive the tools they need to decide for themselves — not have decisions made for them.

Practical Examples of What Legal Capacity Looks Like in Banking

• A person with low vision uses screen reader-compatible apps to review and approve transactions.
• A person with intellectual disability is supported by a trusted aide who explains banking documents in plain language — without taking over control.
• A person who is deaf uses a sign language interpreter to communicate with bank staff, not to sign forms on their behalf.
• A customer who cannot write signs with a thumbprint and is provided with an ink pad and signature verification methods — just like any other customer.

These are not accommodations; they are legal obligations.

What Happens When Legal Capacity is Denied

• Financial dependence on caregivers or family members
• Loss of privacy, especially in sensitive transactions
• Higher risk of financial abuse or fraud
• Emotional harm and loss of dignity

Denying someone legal capacity is dehumanizing. It tells people that their voice doesn’t matter and that their money, identity, and choices are not truly theirs.

The Way Forward: What Banks Must Do

Final Word: Inclusion Begins With Recognition

If you can’t legally control your own bank account, you’re not just excluded from the financial system — you're excluded from society.

Legal capacity isn’t a technicality. It’s freedom. It’s choice. It’s control.

Banks, regulators, and society must stop asking “How can we protect the system from persons with disabilities?” and start asking:

“How can the system protect the rights of everyone — equally?”

Article By: Maryanne Emomeri