Shopped Too Much at the Kiosk and Got Her Bank Account Closed

The bank closed both her account and her BankID. The reason was that she had shopped too much at Pressbyrån. The suspension led to extensive financial problems, which eventually caused her to lose her home.

The affected woman experienced firsthand how devastating it can be to fall victim to the banks’ increasingly draconian rules and to be excluded from the system. Without an account and BankID, financial mobility is quickly and severely limited.

Speaking to financial journalist Karin Andersen at Realtid, she describes how her life fell apart after the bank — it’s unclear which one — shut down her account and BankID, explaining that she had shopped too much at Pressbyrån. Until the issue is resolved, which may take up to a year, she has no access to banking services or her money.

“Banks are so incredibly large and you are so small in their world,” she tells Andersen.

The ban led to her first ending up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) and then losing her apartment.

Want to Avoid Sanctions

As criminal gangs increasingly target financial crimes, banks are facing ever stricter requirements to stop money laundering and suspicious transactions. If they allow something through, they risk harsh sanctions.

This makes banks more likely to close an account rather than risk making a mistake, but it is often ordinary citizens who end up bearing the brunt of these measures. The Financial Supervisory Authority has recognized the issue and suggests that banks should be required to consider milder measures before closing an account.

“It cannot be reasonable that people are shut out from society without warning, causing their entire lives to fall apart,” writes Karin Andersen.

According to a survey conducted by Realtid among its readers, 82 percent believe banks have become too aggressive. Of these, 74 percent think it is legally uncertain and disproportionate, while the remaining eight percent believe the banks have no choice.