Has your bank blocked the cashing of a cheque, a transfer or the activity of your account?

If there is no cash flow problem, the fight against money laundering may be the cause.

And don't think that only finance tycoons are being targeted.

These checks can affect anyone.

The whole thing is then to manage to unblock the situation quickly, which is not always easy.

The duty of care

Banking operations are monitored by the authorities.

Thus, "European regulations impose an obligation of vigilance on financial institutions, which must know all their customers and monitor their transactions in order to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism", explains Ralph Roggenbuck, legal expert for the European Consumer Center France ( CEC).

This explains why we need an identity document and proof of address to open an account, but also why our identity is checked again for the granting of a checkbook or a CB or a cash withdrawal at the counter, or that proof of address is required to transfer funds outside the European Economic Area.

Similarly, algorithms perform many checks on account movements unnoticed.

Suspicion and control

And some operations can trigger enhanced control.

According to Ralph Roggenbuck, “These are typically transactions that stand out because of an unusual amount.

The absence of an object in the payment can also alert, or even the fact of receiving money from certain high-risk countries.

A lot of criteria come into play.

The bank can then ask you for supporting documents in order to verify the nature of the funds, even if it means delaying the operation while waiting for your explanations.

You will therefore have to quickly provide the real estate sales contract, the deed of donation, the loan repayment certificate or the transfer of your shares legitimizing the origin of the money.

Be careful, because in the absence or insufficiency of evidence, the financial institution must make a declaration of suspicion to Tracfin, the French organization in charge of the fight against fraud, which may initiate a more in-depth procedure.

The drifts online

Going further, some neobanks do not hesitate to suspend the activity of the account, or even to close it, pending confirmation or reversal of an offense, but of course without giving the reason.

“You can never be sure of the justification, since the establishments are content to invoke non-compliance with the regulations”, underlines Ralph Roggenbuck.

Nevertheless, the European Consumer Center France "was alerted to this kind of practice in 2018 and handled hundreds of cases in 2021", according to the expert.

How to react ?

The CEC makes several recommendations on its website Europe-consommateurs.eu to avoid any lasting account blocking.

First, you must always put a clear object in a transfer or transfer of funds, but also be reactive if your bank asks for supporting documents, after having verified that it is not

phishing.

In addition, it is advisable to transfer the money to another account, even if it means opening one quickly, as soon as you are told an imminent closure.

Finally, do not limit yourself to online chats.

If the request does not move quickly, look for the other contacts of the bank (customer service at the head office), then go through the consumer mediator.

Do not hesitate to contact a consumer defense association or CEC France, which is competent when the bank is based in another European country.

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