As banks’ efforts to combat financial crime become increasingly tough, more and more ordinary citizens are ending up in impossible situations. Nowadays, it seems that the motto is guilty until proven innocent.

The website Realtid has, in a series of articles, examined the banks’ increasingly draconian measures to curb financial crime, something they are obligated to do and risk heavy fines if they miss anything.

“It is a fact that it hits individuals extremely hard. You are basically guilty until proven otherwise in a way we don’t expect in the judicial system, but it can happen at the bank,” says Realtid’s editor-in-chief Edvard Lundkvist.

In a recent reader survey, about 80 percent said they believe the banks have gone too far. More than half also reported that they themselves have been subjected to, or know someone who has been affected by, an unjustified shutdown of banking services.

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Today, it only takes a single transaction being flagged by the system for a customer to have their accounts and BankID shut down and find themselves in an almost impossible situation.

The situation has led to several horror stories with entrepreneurs seeing their life’s work destroyed and people ending up with the Enforcement Authority and losing their homes. The banks reject the criticism and refer to current legislation, saying there is little they can do in cases where customers’ lives are shattered.

Financial Supervisory Authority Wants to See Alternatives

The Financial Supervisory Authority is aware of the problem and has suggested that banks should try other types of measures before shutting down accounts.

“All consumers have the right to a payment account with basic functions. At the same time, banks can deny or close payment accounts with reference to the risk that the account may be used for money laundering or because the bank cannot achieve customer due diligence,” writes Karin Franck, press secretary at the authority, in an email to Realtid.

Since lacking an account means you are excluded from the social system, “banks need to continue working so that consumers’ access to payment accounts is not restricted more than necessary,” Franck continues.

The banks themselves state that fraud and unscrupulous actors online have increased, leading to intensified security efforts.

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