Bank query - Page 2

Most countries, if not all, now have strict regulations against money laundering and all banks are required to show due diligence in combating this. Not nonsense at all. And you'll not it's only non residents that have to provide this. N26 being a German bank would come under the foreign status. 

Like everything, legislation designed to catch the big boys also suck in Mr and Mrs Average, like the declaration of foreign assets in Spain. Several pop stars and footballers have been caught (and heavily fined) but it also affects those who just have a normal income as well. 

Shakira got done for over 14 million euro in tax, Messi had to pay 2.1 million but it also gets Mr and Mrs Bloggs with a state pension and small private pension not declaring the pennies they get in interest.

Of course, I could have provided my tax return and redacted everything other than my personal details. Who knows whether they will have accepted it.

I'm bitter because in Nov-23, I passed their KYC checks having provided various details.

Then, I did a transfer out of my N26 account to an Isle of Man account - this is what prompted the whole farce and required them asking for a shed load more of unnecessary details.

So it wasn't a case of me validating myself (as I had already done that in Nov-23 to their satisfaction), it was the fact I transferred a 5 figure sum out to the IoM which I can understand might prompt additional scrutiny but not such additional scrutiny that requires my tax return.

But anyway, I lost the argument but I was able to resolve it relatively simply. My concern would be if they did something similar to someone less "tech savvy" and gave them only 60 days to move all their DDs while also preventing any transfers into their account to pay bills as and when they arose. 

Thank you for all your comments.  I have emailed our solicitors in Spain to ask for their advice. We have a large sum of money in the Bank which is supposed to cover all direct debits etc, so we only add money to the account when we are going out to Spain to ensure the balance stays at a good level.  I have never been asked for this information from any bank I have ever used before. 

If you are non-resident then I think the likely cheapest account would be with Wise (as it is free). As mentioned in other posts, it doesn't carry the same levels of protection but I'd work around that.

For example, you could keep your Euros in a Starling or Revolut account which do have FSCS protection and transfer amounts as and when needed to your exposure is minimised. 

Personally, I think the likelihood of Wise going bust is next to nil - it doesn't have a mortgage book which is what caused lots of issues in the global financial crisis and is a profitable entity in its own right as things stand.

I don't know about Starling but Revolut isn't covered by the FSCS either. They all say they have money deposited in an insurance account but it is not the same as the Banks compensation scheme. Wise and Revolut both say they are not banks but the money is guaranteed to the same amount by a separate insurance scheme.

Well not necessarily a tax return, but it fits the requirement to prove income. All banks and any professional ( eg solicitors) who deal in cash transactions, including in the U.K., have to comply with anti money laundering regulations - if they cannot satisfy themselves as to the legitimate source of your funds, they can refuse to operate banking services for you.
The reason for this strong stance is that if a bank was found not to be complying, their banking licence could be removed by their regulator. As a retired banker, I know from experience that following the rules is indeed a lot bureaucracy to comply with  - but it is not the bank making the rules.

Hi Marcliff

Revolut has a banking license for Europe https://help.revolut.com/en-ES/help/more/legal-topics/is-revolut-a-bank/ 

Cheers

Steve

Apologies, I was reading an old Revolut post that said they weren't a bank (why don't they delete old web pages?). They were granted bank status in all the EEA so sorry for that.

No need to apologise! In fact, you accidentally reminded me that they do have a licence here - which I will now look into for my own reasons. Cheers

Hola, I'm now with Starling, it's a UK online bank so protected. For that reason it doesn't have an EU iban, so some payments I make online using the euro account/card rather than DD as utilities are awkward, but it's not difficult.

Back when I used to transfer money to Sabadell, the UK bank always asked where the money had come from, it was only a drop down menu with income/savings/rent etc, but the principle is the same, we're now being asked to prove it on occasion. 

I'd rather banks were doing due diligence than letting me be scammed! But I get for some it feels like an invasion of privacy, if not explained properly by the bank.