Why was my account permanently closed?

Hey bunqers 🌈,

Finding out that your bunq account is being closed can feel stressful, especially when you rely on it for your everyday banking.

To keep bunq safe for everyone, we regularly review accounts for unusual activity and situations we’re legally required to check. In some cases, as a result of these reviews, we have to make the difficult decision to close an account.

This isn't a decision we take lightly. It’s a necessary step we take to help prevent fraud, protect your money, and keep all of our users and the banking sector secure.

We understand this is a major disruption, and the most important thing to know is that if you have any remaining balance on your account, it’s safe and we’re here to help you understand how you can withdraw it.

Below, you’ll find what to expect next and how to access your funds.

What does permanent account closure mean?

When a bunq account is closed, it is no longer active. From that moment on, you won’t be able to make payments, receive incoming funds, or use your bunq cards. At this stage, your account may still be subject to legally required actions, such as garnishments or other third-party claims — these should be settled before the account can be permanently closed.

Once all claims have been settled and you’ve withdrawn any remaining funds from your closed account, your account is considered permanently closed. It won’t receive any legally required actions, and you’ll no longer have access to your account in the bunq app.

Can I access the bunq App when my account is closed?

If your account is closed, you’ll no longer have full access to the bunq App but you’ll still be able to take the most important actions. When you open the bunq App with a closed account, you’ll see a screen from which you’ll be able to:

See Why: View the detailed breakdown of the reason for your account closure.
Export Statements: Export your Annual Overview or Bank Account Statement(s).
Withdraw: Withdraw your remaining funds, if you have remaining funds in your bunq account and they’re available for withdrawal.

This screen will always display the real-time status of your remaining funds. The moment your money is ready, the Withdraw button will become active for you to use. If there’s a mandatory holding period, the screen will clearly display when you can expect the next update regarding your remaining funds withdrawal. Typically, we’ll share an update with you within 30 days from the moment of your account closure.

If, after reviewing the information in the app, you still have questions or something doesn't make sense, please reach out to us. You can always contact us at support@bunq.com.

Will you notify me about my account closure?

If we notice any misuse or activity which violates our Terms, our goal is to always resolve it with you first. We’ll do so by getting in touch through the secure, in-app Support chat:

For minor issues or accidental misuse, we’ll send you a friendly heads-up.
If we need more context, we’ll ask you for more information or supporting documents.

If we’re not able to resolve things together, we’ll let you know that your account is scheduled to be closed, in line with our Terms and legal obligations. Where possible, we aim to give you at least two months notice so you have time to withdraw your funds and arrange alternative banking arrangements.

In some situations, we may need to permanently close an account immediately after reviewing the activity. If that happens, you’ll be notified both in-app and by email, along with what this means and what you can do next.

Can I still receive money on a closed account?

We want to make sure you always know what's happening with your money. Here’s a breakdown of how incoming payments are handled when your bunq account is permanently closed.

Any incoming payments will automatically bounce back to the original sender when your account has been permanently closed. This process is quick and typically takes no more than 2 business days.
Sometimes, we may be legally required to accept incoming payments to your account while we’re in the process of permanently closing it. This only happens when a third party with legal authority, like a bailiff, has given a formal instruction for the payment to be accepted, in order to collect debts or owed money.

What happens to my money if my account is getting permanently closed?

Here’s what happens if your Personal account is being closed and you have remaining money on your account.

Your account is closed for misuse or a breach of our Terms:

If the closure of your account was due to misuse or a breach of our Terms, you’ll be able to withdraw any remaining funds immediately from the bunq app to a different bank account.

Your account is closed due to a serious security risk to our community:

If the close of your account was due to a detected security risk or activity which doesn’t align with regular banking behavior as outlined in our Terms 21.2, your money will be held in your closed account. Here’s the breakdown of the holding periods:

Initial 30 day hold: We’ll hold the remaining funds in your account for an initial period of 30 days. This allows time for any potential claims from third parties to be made and settled.

Review and decision: After the initial 30 day hold, we'll review your case to determine whether we need to extend the holding period by another 30 days. This may happen if third-party claims are still being processed. In case there are third-party claims, we’ll use the funds in your account to cover these payments. As such, the final amount returned to you may be less than the balance you had when the account was first closed. Otherwise, you’ll be able to withdraw the remaining balance.

Please note: We can’t speed up the process and must wait at least 30 days before returning the remaining money to you, in cases of suspected fraud.

What about my Stocks or Crypto?

If you hold any stocks or crypto, we’ll let our trading partners know of your account closure. They’ll start selling your investments for you. This usually takes 14 working days, depending on their processing times.

Once the investments are sold, the money (in Euros), will be sent back to your bunq account and handled just like the rest of your balance.

In most cases: you’ll be able to withdraw this money as soon as it’s available.
If your funds are being held: the money from your investments will be added to that balance and will follow the same review and holding period.

Heads-up: this process is beyond our control and is done by our platform Partner(s). As such, it can sometimes take longer to complete. We’ll always do our best to get your funds back to you as quickly as we can and keep you updated along the way.

How will I get my money back from a closed account?

If your account is closed, our priority is to return your money to you as quickly as possible. The exact process depends on whether you have a Personal or Business Account(s).

Personal Accounts

For Personal Accounts, we’ll return your funds through a simple and secure in-app refund. To access your money, simply:

Open your bunq app
Tap on Withdraw
You’ll see the total amount available to withdraw
Tap on Next
Enter the IBAN you’d like to get your money on
Tap on Confirm Withdrawal
Your funds are withdrawn

Business Accounts

If your Business Account was closed, how we refund your money depends on your company's legal structure.

Sole Proprietorships Companies: If your company is a sole proprietorship, like an Eenmanszaak in the Netherlands, we’ll refund any remaining company funds directly to your Personal bunq Account.

All Other Company Types: If your company has a different legal form, for example, a B.V. or Ltd., we’ll ask for a little more information in order to securely process the refund to the right owner. This is how we’ll do it:

Provide a Destination Account: We’ll send you a request in the bunq app asking you to provide an IBAN for the refund. This IBAN must belong to either:

The company itself, or
One of its registered shareholders.

Submit Supporting Documents: To ensure a secure and compliant transfer, we will ask for the following:

A recent bank statement for the provided IBAN.
If the IBAN belongs to a shareholder, a recent Chamber of Commerce extract to verify their status is also required.

Transfer the remaining funds: We’ll process the refund to the provided IBAN. The processing of the refund will depend on the reason for the account closure.

For both Personal and Business accounts, the option to withdraw your money will be made available in your app based on the reason for the account closure. The refund will be available:

Immediately: if your account has been closed due to misuse or a breach of our Terms
After the applicable holding period is over: if your account has been closed due to a confirmed security risk.

Once you withdraw your remaining funds, we’ll process the refund. Sometimes, this may take 1-2 days before it arrives to your account due to standard bank transfer times. The same standard transfer times apply if we are refunding you to an IBAN.

If you don’t see the option to withdraw your money yet, that is because your funds are still retained under the holding period. Once your funds are ready to be withdrawn, you’ll see the Withdraw button in the bunq App. We'll always display the latest updates on your withdrawal status in the app.

Can I dispute the closure of my account?

Account closures are not decisions we take lightly. Once an account has been permanently closed, this can’t be reversed as we’re required to follow strict legal and regulatory obligations.

If you believe that your account was wrongfully closed, you can still get in touch with us. Our team will take another look if you share any additional information or supporting documents that help clarify the use of your account. You can reach our Support Team at support@bunq.com.