French customers want to sue N26

A lawyer accuses the bank of "completely arbitrarily" blocking money when bank customers needed it.

In France, more than 50 customers apparently want to take legal action against the Berlin-based neobank N26. Their accusation is that the bank arbitrarily blocked their money when they needed it. The case is to be discussed in court in April. In a Facebook group with 685 members, customers would explain that N26 simply closed their account and withheld their money. This reports Finance Forward. According to the report, a lawyer told the French news channel. RMC: "This has never been seen before: That a bank on its own and completely arbitrary and unauthorized blocks the money of a customer who needs it to carry out everyday transactions."

For months, customers allegedly failed to get back three- to four-digit sums, according to the accusation. N26, meanwhile, is apparently talking about a "routine check" related to anti-money laundering. Customers would see their money again. In France, there are only a few hundred account closures a year for every 2.5 million customers, he said.

The current cases could be an indication that N26 is tightening its anti-money laundering measures: the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) had already ordered Neobank to take stronger measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in May 2021. In November, the regulator ordered the bank to accept only 50,000 new customers per month from Nov. 6.