Blocked accounts, but what is happening at the neobank N26?


Mathieu Grumiaux

October 25, 2022 at 11:15 a.m.

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© N26

Several customers have not had access to their money for many months and are having great difficulty getting reimbursed.

The German online bank sees its number of dissatisfied customers increase day after day and the situation does not seem to be improving.

N26 justifies the closure of accounts by checks made on the identity of its customers

Since the beginning of the year, many N26 users have had the unpleasant surprise of seeing their bank accounts deleted, without explanation.

According to the bank, these account blockings are carried out within the framework of European regulations for the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The European Union thus requires banks to monitor the identity of their customers and their transactions, and N26 seems to be a little overzealous, after being slapped on the knuckles by Bafin, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority , for breaches of its monitoring obligations.

N26 has the right, according to article L. 561-5 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, to proceed with the blocking of accounts, but only if it provides proof that it has not ” unable to identify the purpose and nature of the business relationship » and that a serious and legitimate doubt persists on the nature of the operations, which does not correspond to the situation experienced by many of its clients.

Neobank customers organize to recover their funds, even if it means going to court

Asked about the subject, N26 replied to our colleagues from What to choose : “ We are aware that each individual situation is different, and each time do our utmost to allow customers whose account must be closed to recover their available balance as quickly as possible according to the application of the procedures in force. “.

Many customers do not want to stop there and organize themselves to recover their money, while customer service seems inaccessible, whether by phone or email.

It is possible, if you are concerned by the blocking of your N26 account, to contact the bank’s mediator in order to move the file forward.

Other customers gathered in various Facebook groups bringing together dozens of injured users, and managed to recover their funds by contacting the online bank via a specialized lawyer. A complaint was finally filed last September with the aim of claiming damages.

Source : What to choose



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