Although many users are unaware of it, the bank could block access to their account due to a series of factors. As long as it is maintained, you will not be able to withdraw or deposit money, make or receive transfers (salary included) or pay direct debits, much less make purchases with a card. In other words, the user will lose access to all the money they have.
Anyone can suffer it if the bank considers that this measure should be applied, although, yes, the instructions of the Bank of Spain are clear in this regard: an account must never be blocked without having previously issued the respective communication to the user, because otherwise Otherwise, the entity would be causing you harm. But why does a bank block an account? Is it legit?
This is the most common scenario headlines face. However, it is important to take into account, as they remember from the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com, that an entity cannot block an account for this reason without prior notice. Otherwise, you would be moving away from the code of good banking practices.
This blocking in question occurs, for example, when the DNI or NIE provided to open the account has expired and has not been updated.
This scenario gained special interest during the confinement, when some individuals were victims of this practice because they were unable to renew their identity documents given the prevailing situation. Although it is true that the Council of Ministers approved a measure within a decree-law that extended the validity of all those identity documents that expired during the state of alarm by one year, there were several users who saw how their accounts were blocked despite the new decree.
An entity can block the account if it detects unusual movements or income, far from normal operations. Through this law, the bank is obliged to know the professional or business activity of its clients and, based on that information, detect possible fraud that could be committed.
For example, a bank could block a holder’s account if, in the bank’s opinion, their movements are not typical of their common professional and operational activity. For example, if the amounts of the transfers start to change for other higher amounts, the bank could block the account to verify the reason for these operations and make sure that everything matches the information it has. Given this scenario, the bank could request the user to provide documentation that justifies their sources of income and professional or business activity to assess whether the operation of the account corresponds to what is reflected.
When an account has more than one account holder, such as a couple or business partners, it may be blocked if the account holders, due to their personal or professional discrepancies, issue contradictory orders that present an incompatibility in banking operations. The entity, in this scenario, blocks the account so as not to take sides in the situation and remains in a neutral space until a judicial resolution (divorce cases, for example) dictates the future of the funds in said account.
All the necessary documentation must be provided immediately to recover the operation and, therefore, access to the money. Unlocking time may vary depending on the type of documentation required.
To prevent this type of situation from blocking full access to capital, the ideal thing to do is, as highlighted by HelpMyCash, to have a secondary account with no commissions and no linkage requirements and with some money so that, in this way, you can continue operating.
With an account of these characteristics, the holders always make sure they have a plan B that can guarantee them access apart from their capital. BBVA offers its new customers an account that can act as a lifeline in a scenario of this magnitude. This is the Online Account Without Commissions, free and with debit cards, free of charge for up to two holders. The account does not require any type of regular deposit and makes the 6,000 BBVA ATMs available to its users for free.
Openbank and Abanca also have accounts of this style in their catalogues. Openbank, Santander’s online bank, also has a 100% digital and free account: the Open Current Account, an unlinked account that offers a free debit card at no cost that grants access to the 7,500 Banco Santander ATMs and, in addition , discounts on fashion, leisure, gastronomy and tourism.
Abanca, for its part, has the Cuenta Clara, a 100% digital current account with no commissions, as long as all operations are carried out online. The account does not require linking, but offers a gift of 150 euros for all those who domicile a salary of 600 euros. In addition, those under 35 years of age will be able to withdraw money free of charge up to five times a month at ATMs around the world.