Bank account blocked or frozen: what can you do?

23 September 2026

Arslan Advocaten

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Bank account blocked or frozen: what can you do?

Has your bank account been blocked? Ask the bank straight away which restriction applies, why it was imposed and what is needed to lift it. Record which essential payments are not going through. A block may be related to security, customer due diligence under the Wwft (the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act), fraud, sanctions or an attachment. The cause determines which body can intervene and which legal route makes sense.

Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Bankrekening geblokkeerd of bevroren: wat kunt u doen?

Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: Banka hesabı bloke edildi veya donduruldu: ne yapabilirsiniz?

Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 17 September 2026.

If the problem is urgent, do not simply wait for a general complaints procedure. A household without money to live on, or a business that cannot transfer salaries, needs a concrete solution. Think of restoring access, carrying out individual payments or an urgent assessment. None of these solutions is automatically available: the bank must be able to implement them within the applicable rules.

What exactly has been blocked?

A blocked debit card is something different from a blocked account. Sometimes online banking and transfers still work, but the card has been deactivated for security reasons. Sometimes you can receive money while outgoing payments are held back. It is also possible that only a single transaction is being investigated. So first ask about the precise scope.

Check which account numbers and products are affected. Note whether direct debits are still being processed, whether your salary can come in and whether an authorised representative has access. With a joint account, the measure may also affect another account holder. Being able to see a balance does not necessarily mean that you can use it.

Record notifications in the app with the date and time. Keep error messages from payments and messages from the bank. Do not try to get around a security block by repeatedly using new devices, accounts or intermediaries. That can make the investigation more difficult and does not provide a lasting solution to the underlying problem.

The cause determines your first step

Possible cause	First question to investigate
Security or suspected misuse	How is my identity verified and access safely restored
Wwft customer due diligence	What information is missing and which transactions are being investigated
Fraud investigation	What acts am I accused of and is there also a registration
Civil attachment	Which bailiff and creditor are involved and what has been attached
Criminal seizure or sanctions measure	Which statutory measure applies and who can decide on it
Technical fault	Which functions are affected and what alternatives does the bank offer

These situations can overlap. A bank may, for example, first hold back a payment for security reasons and then ask for additional information. Ask for clarity in writing as soon as the measure lasts longer or affects your essential payments. A general notice that your account is being investigated does not yet make clear which route is open to you.

Block during a Wwft investigation

Banks must know who their customers are and whether transactions fit the known customer profile. To that end, they may request relevant information and supporting documents. Article 3 of the Wwft describes customer due diligence. If the bank cannot complete the required investigation, Article 5 of the Wwft may mean that it does not carry out a transaction or must end the relationship.

This does not mean that a reference to the Wwft justifies any unlimited block. Ask which questions are still outstanding, why your earlier documents are insufficient and whether a less far-reaching solution is possible. Whether continuation is legally possible depends on the statutory impediment and the circumstances. The bank does not have to provide services that the law prohibits.

Answer the questions even if you are protesting against the block. Put your explanations alongside the corresponding documents. If you need time to obtain documents from abroad, provide a concrete timetable and send what is already available. Our explanation on answering Wwft questions will help you build that file.

Security and suspected payment fraud

In the case of a lost card, a suspicious login attempt or possible misuse, a quick block can in fact prevent further damage. Ask through a trusted bank channel how the security check will be completed. Never give your PIN or full security codes to anyone who promises by telephone to resolve the block.

Have amounts been debited that you did not authorise? Report them immediately and separately as disputed transactions. The question of whether access should be restored is different from the question of whether the bank must refund money. Unauthorised payments are subject to their own statutory rules and reporting deadlines.

Keep the original messages, transaction details and the times you reported the problem. Do not delete a fraudulent email before the evidence has been safely stored. Ask the bank to retain relevant log data and records of contact. Also note when the bank could be reached and what instructions you were given. That may later be important in a discussion about further damage.

Is a block also a fraud registration?

No. A block restricts the use of a product. A registration records data in a particular system. The bank may take both measures, but must be able to explain the legal basis and conditions of each separately. So you may be proved right about a block while a registration still has to be assessed, or vice versa.

Ask explicitly whether your data have been included in the IVR (Internal Reference Register), the incident register, the EVR (External Reference Register) or an internal list of terminated relationships. Also ask about the registering legal entity, the date, the reason and the intended duration. An entry in, for example, a CAAML list is not the same as an external fraud registration.

A broad description of the differences can be found in our guide to registrations by banks and insurers. Do not limit your complaint to the name you yourself give the problem. Use the exact terms from the letter and ask for clarification where they are missing.

If an attachment has been placed on the account

In the case of a civil attachment of a bank account, the bank acts as the garnishee (third party). It cannot disregard a valid attachment simply because you ask it to. Ask for the attachment document, the bailiff involved and the claim for which the attachment was made. The solution may lie with the creditor, the bailiff or the court, rather than with the bank’s regular complaints department.

For natural persons, protection of an amount exempt from attachment may apply in the case of a bank attachment. Its application and calculation must be checked against the current rules and your personal situation. Do not rely solely on what the banking app shows as a blocked balance. Have the scope of the attachment and the protection available checked.

A criminal seizure is subject to different procedures from a payment dispute with the bank. An ordinary complaint to Kifid, the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Tribunal, does not replace that legal route. In the case of a civil measure, read our explanation of bank attachment and state at the first contact who made the attachment.

How do you substantiate urgent payments?

Write down specifically what will go wrong if the restriction continues. For a private individual, rent, energy, groceries, healthcare costs and necessary travel costs may be relevant. For a business, it may concern wages, tax payments or suppliers threatening to stop their services. Add the due dates and supporting documents.

An overview showing only the total balance is not sufficient for this. Show how much money is actually needed, when and to whom it must be paid. State whether you have other accounts and why they can or cannot be used. Be complete: another available account may affect the urgency or the appropriate solution.

Ask the bank whether certain necessary payments can be made in a controlled way while the investigation is ongoing. That request can be practical, but it does not create an exception to a statutory prohibition or an attachment. If it is refused, ask for an explanation. A file becomes stronger when it shows which less far-reaching solutions you have proposed.

What happens to wages and incoming money?

That differs from one block to another. Sometimes incoming payments remain possible while you cannot access the balance. With other measures, amounts may be sent back. Check this before you give instructions to an employer, benefits agency or customer. An account that remains visible in your app may still be unsuitable for receiving necessary income.

If you have another account that you are lawfully allowed to use, discuss changing payments in good time. Do not make arrangements that frustrate an attachment or circumvent the bank’s terms and conditions. Moreover, an account in the name of a family member is not a full replacement: ownership of the money, access and any debts of that person can create new problems.

If, as a consumer, you no longer have a usable payment account anywhere, look into a basic payment account or, where appropriate, a basic bank account under the covenant. Conditions and customer due diligence also apply to these. See our explanation of a refused basic payment account.

How long may the block last

There is no general time limit that makes every account block unlawful after a fixed number of days. The duration depends on factors such as the cause, your cooperation, the complexity of the investigation and whether the risk can be managed in another way. With an attachment, the duration is in turn linked to the measure concerned.

Do, however, ask for a date for the next review and for clarity about what still needs to happen. Keep a timeline of the information requested and provided. If the bank keeps asking for the same documents without explanation or does not get in touch for a long time, you can include that specifically in your complaint. Merely stating that it is taking too long gives less to go on.

Report changes in urgency immediately. A payment problem three weeks away may in the meantime have become a problem for tomorrow. Enclose the new due date or reminder. Update your request for a temporary solution, so that the bank and any court have the current consequences before them.

Drafting a complaint focused on the block

Start with the account, the start date and the functions that no longer work. Then describe the reason the bank has given and the information you have already provided. State which elements you dispute: the absence of a sufficient ground, the scope of the restriction, its duration or the way in which alternatives were examined.

Ask for a concrete solution. For example, restoring access after an identity check, carrying out specified payments or a reasoned reassessment of the block. Add an appropriate response period that reflects the urgency. That self-imposed period is not a statutory time limit and does not guarantee a response within that time.

An adaptable sample passage reads: “My account [number] has been restricted for [functions] since [date]. On [dates] I provided the information requested. I would like to receive a concrete explanation of the remaining impediment and a reassessment. The enclosed payments fall due on [date]. Could you indicate whether these can be carried out in a controlled way and what information is needed for that?”

Kifid or urgent proceedings

In a consumer dispute with a bank that is a member of Kifid, Kifid may be an option. The internal complaints procedure must be completed first, subject to the options available if no timely response is received. Jurisdiction and time limits must be checked separately. A complaint to Kifid does not automatically suspend the block.

Where there is an immediate need to make payments, interim relief proceedings may be considered. In those proceedings you ask for a provisional measure. You must substantiate the urgent interest and the legal ground. A court will also weigh the bank’s interests and statutory obligations. Access to payment services carries great weight, but it is no guarantee of full continuation.

For business owners, access to Kifid is not available for every product or dispute. A business payment account is not automatically the same as an admissible complaint about small business financing. So have the route established before you invest a lot of time in a procedure that cannot rule on your dispute.

Can you claim compensation?

An unjustified block can cause damage, but the bank is not automatically liable for every setback that follows. You must substantiate what was unlawful or contractually incorrect, what damage resulted from it and what reasonable steps you took to limit the damage.

Keep, for example, evidence of extra costs, failed payments and correspondence about a lost assignment. Distinguish between damage actually suffered and estimated turnover that might have been achieved. For business losses, a financial calculation may be needed. Do not needlessly delay the restoration of payment services while the extent of the damage is still being investigated.

A workable request for limited payment facilities

A request to lift all restrictions immediately may reach a dead end, while a more concrete temporary solution is still open for discussion. So ask which payment function exactly is causing the problem. You may, for example, request to pay only directly to a known landlord. Enclose the tenancy agreement, the current outstanding amount and the payment details. The bank must be able to assess where the money comes from and to whom it is going.

That request does not give an automatic right to release. With an attachment or a statutory freeze, the bank cannot decide on its own that a payment may go ahead after all. With a risk measure of its own, it must assess the options within its obligations. Ask for a written answer to your specific proposal, so that it becomes clear why, according to the bank, even a limited solution is not possible.

With a joint account, also keep track of who is an account holder and who only has a power of attorney. A block may also affect the other account holder. Record that person’s income and necessary payments separately. The extent of the personal interest then becomes more concrete than with a mere statement that the household is getting into difficulty.

During the discussions, watch out for new payment arrears. Inform a creditor in good time that the payment has been delayed by a bank restriction and, if necessary, ask for a temporary arrangement. Keep the response. This supports your efforts to limit the damage, but does not in itself remove an existing payment obligation. Do not use someone else’s account to avoid checks; that can create new questions and risks for that person.

Urgency when your account is blocked

Ask whether only a payment, a payment instrument or the entire account has been blocked. State which necessary payments cannot currently be made and add evidence of the urgency. Ask what targeted information is needed for a reassessment and whether a limited solution is possible.

Online bank, payment institution or sanctions freeze

Check which legal entity you have an agreement with. A bank and a payment institution do not have the same framework or the same complaints route on every point. A foreign app name does not in itself tell you who is responsible.

With a sanctions freeze, mandatory rules may apply that differ from those for an ordinary internal fraud block. Ask for the legal basis in so far as it may be disclosed, and have the appropriate route assessed. A bank cannot be compelled through an ordinary complaint to disregard a statutory freeze.

Also read about Kifid or the courts and transfers to the wrong account.

Frequently asked questions

May the bank block my account without a court order?

A security or contractual restriction may, in certain circumstances, be imposed without a prior judgment. That does not mean that every block is valid. Separate requirements apply to attachments and other statutory measures. Always ask which ground your bank is relying on.

Can I demand that the account be unblocked because it is my money?

Your interest in having access to the balance is important. Even so, the bank may be bound by security obligations, customer due diligence, an attachment or sanctions. Have it assessed whether that ground actually exists and whether the restriction chosen is appropriate.

Do I have to wait until the investigation is completely finished?

Not when it comes to raising urgent problems or submitting documents. You can ask for an interim assessment or a limited payment facility. Whether the bank may agree to this depends on the cause of the block.

Will a complaint to DNB help to get my money released?

DNB (the Dutch central bank) supervises financial institutions, but does not act as your civil disputes court in deciding on the release of your balance or compensation. Reporting a concern to the supervisor does not replace a complaint to the bank or the appropriate legal route.

Is a blocked account closed for good?

No. Blocking restricts use; termination ends an agreement. Ask whether a decision to terminate also applies alongside the block. The end date, the settlement of the balance and any registrations must then be examined separately.

Which documents should I send to a lawyer?

Send the bank’s letter, app notifications, your answers, the bank’s terms and conditions and an overview of urgent payments. Add attachment documents if there are any. Also mention other available accounts and the date on which the problems may have irreversible consequences.

Have urgent payment problems assessed immediately

In a dispute with a bank, Arslan Advocaten can assess which ground applies to the restriction and which solution is needed in practice. Mention the date of the block and the next urgent payment. Discuss the approach, costs and any possibilities for subsidised legal aid in advance.