Customers currently have to answer a few questions from the smartphone bank.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt N26 currently seems to be catching up on what the Berlin smartphone bank has failed to do in the past: it collects a great deal of information about its customers. When accessing the app, customers have to answer a few questions: “What is your employment status?”, “What is your main source of income?” or “Are you considered a politically exposed person?”.
It is quite common for banks to collect information about their customers for identification purposes. Other financial institutions also ask for the relevant data when opening an account or later when contacting customers.
However, it seems as if some of the questions from N26 go beyond the normal level. Politically exposed persons (PEP) usually hold a high-ranking important public office. As a rule, financial institutions carry out this check using so-called PEP lists provided by service providers.
An N26 spokeswoman said when asked that as part of routine requests to confirm or update personal information, the company asks customers to fill out a short questionnaire in the app.
The reason is that, according to the Money Laundering Act, the company must have effective risk management that includes a risk analysis and internal security measures. “Therefore, it is necessary to consider possible peculiarities that may arise from the professional and financial circumstances of customers in order to be able to assess any risks for the business relationship,” said a spokeswoman. The company is responsible for what information is required for this.
30 days to fill in the questionnaire
N26 is still in the sights of the German financial regulator Bafin. Bafin believes that N26 has grown too rapidly for many years and has not evolved its processes and controls accordingly. In November 2021, the authority therefore sent a special representative to the bank and ordered that N26 be allowed to accept a maximum of 50,000 new customers per month.
One point of criticism is apparently still the fight against money laundering, which N26 wants to further curb with the current query of customer data.
N26 customers have a total of 30 days to complete the questionnaire. If this does not happen, the use of the account will be “temporarily” restricted, as the spokeswoman said.
However, those affected can still update their information after the period specified therein and unlock the account again by confirming or updating their data.
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