For us, it is a prioritized issue since the consequences for the individuals who are without a payment account become enormously difficult in today's digital society, says Mithra Sundberg, head of department for Payment Supervision at FI.
The Financial Supervisory Authority has taken a closer look at how the Swedish major banks Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank worked during 2023 and 2024 to secure the right to a payment account. According to the Financial Supervisory Authority, the major banks have improved their work during that period.
There is more to be done even though we see that the banks have improved their work during this time. They need to try each individual case, not make decisions based on more general assumptions.
Already before the analysis, the Financial Supervisory Authority stated that it could be relevant with legal requirements to ensure that the banks work with the issue. The authority wants to see legal requirements for the banks to try alternative measures to refusing a payment account. They also want to see legal requirements for decisions to be documented.
We have presented this before as well, but it has been confirmed in the analysis we have done now.
Sophie Gräsberg/TT
Facts: This applies when the bank restricts the payment account
TT
The banks are required to offer payment accounts with basic services to consumers. They are also required to ensure that their services are not used for criminal activities.
The bank can temporarily freeze the assets during the investigation under the Money Laundering Act. Only government agencies can decide to seize or distrain assets.
Source: Financial Supervisory Authority.
