Hey bunqers 🌈, 

Your safety is our priority. That’s why we designed Safety Shield as an added layer of protection that helps keep your transactions safe and gives you peace of mind.

When you enable Safety Shield, any unusual payments made from your account will be held securely for 24 hours before being processed. This gives you the opportunity to review the payment and cancel it from the bunq app if you never intended to send it. 

Do I need to turn the Safety Shield on? 

Safety Shield is automatically enabled for all new users, ensuring you benefit from enhanced security right from the start. No setup, no additional steps for you to take, and no hassle. 

Safety Shield works instantly to safeguard all of your funds, including your payments and your Stock and Crypto trades. And while it’s working in the background, you’re always in control. If you ever need to, you can easily switch it off directly from your bunq app. 

Why is it useful?

With Safety Shield, all unusual transactions will be placed on a 24 hour hold. This way, even if someone tricked you into moving your money, you have some time to pause, review, and cancel the payment if needed. This simple delay can make a significant difference in keeping your assets safe.If you think your account has been compromised, report it here. 

Which payments are considered unusual?

Possible reasons for a payment to be considered unusual are: 

• Changes to your daily limit

• Logging in on a new device

• Accepting an invite to a Joint or Shared Account

• Making a payment to a new counterparty for the first time 

• The payment has otherwise raised our suspicion and we’re taking the necessary steps to verify its legitimacy.

How long will my payment be secured for?

If Safety Shield places your outgoing payment on hold, it stays protected for 24 hours from the moment you hit the send button. During this time, you can review it and tap Cancel this Payment in the bunq app if you didn’t mean to send it. You can cancel it by following these steps: 

1. Open the payment protected by the Safety Shield

2. Tap on Cancel Payment

3. Select a reason for the cancellation 

4. Tap on Confirm

5. All done, your money’s secured! 

If you don’t recognize the payment, change your security code to secure your account as soon as possible. Here’s how: 

1. Tap on your Profile in the top left corner

2. Go to ⚙️Settings

3. Tap on Security

4. Select Change Security Code

5. Type in your current Security Code

6. Choose your new Security Code and confirm it

Make sure to report any suspicious activity or unrecognized payments through our official Fraud Report so we can investigate this matter further. 

What if I meant to send the payment? 

No worries, your payment is safe and sound. Once the 24 hours pass, we’ll automatically execute the payment. You’ll see the estimated delivery date in the payment details.

How can I turn the Safety Shield off?

If you’d like to have all your payments processed instantly, you have the option to turn the Safety Shield off. 

The decision to switch it off should only ever be made by you. If someone’s on the phone with you asking or pressuring you to turn the Safety Shield off — hang up immediately. bunq employees will never call you to request sensitive information or ask you to change your security settings. Whenever something feels off, please report the suspicious activity to us here: bunq.com/report.   

Ready to proceed? Here’s how: 

1. Go to your Home Tab

2. Go to Your Profile

3. Tap on Settings

4. Select Security

5. Tap on Safety Shield  

6. Toggle off for Safety Shield 

7. Confirm that you want to switch the Safety Shield off 

8. Tap on Yes, turn it off

To keep you safe, there's a 24-hour waiting period after you switch it off before it's actually disabled, in case you change your mind or if someone else turns it off without your permission. You can turn your Safety Shield back on anytime, just as easily, by flipping the toggle back on. 

What are the risks of turning Safety Shield off?

You’re always in full control of your account and can choose to turn the Safety Shield off whenever you like. Before you do, we want to be transparent about the risks. 

When Safety Shield is off, all payments made from your account will be made as fast as possible, including payments that are larger than normal or made to people you’ve never paid before. The main danger is that in the case that fraudsters gain access to your account or you’re a victim of phishing scams, any payments made from your account will be sent out without that second chance to stop them. 

It’s important to note that social engineering scams, like phishing, have become more advanced in recent years. We see the impact of these scams and understand that it can happen to everyone. If your account is compromised while the Safety Shield is off, this may limit the extent to which we can help to reimburse the costs from our side. We therefore strongly recommend keeping the Safety Shield on, to give you an added layer of protection.

Good to know

• You still earn MassInterest on your delayed payments.

• In case of a delayed payment, bunq to bunq transfers won’t be instant.