Will it become easier for customers to communicate with banks?

The Netherlands has a program to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (Transactiemonitoring Nederland - TMNL), in which 5 large banks have united: ABN Amro; ING; Rabobank; Triodos Bank and Volksbank. Experts have long been warning that this program does not comply with European and Dutch legislation and should be cancelled. There is now a court decision against ABN Amro that confirms this view.

Why do experts consider the use of TMNL excessive? 

The transaction monitoring program - TMNL has been in effect since 2020. In accordance with it, the five largest banks in the Netherlands work together to verify the transfer of funds to and from the accounts of their clients. If a transaction is considered unusual or suspicious, it is blocked and customers have to deal with explanations to banks. This slows down business and causes other negative consequences. 

Experts believe that TMNL's methods are more stringent than those provided for by EU directives on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. They are even stricter than Dutch law requires WWFT (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme). In particular, European directives provide for in-depth examination only of “suspicious transactions”, and do not provide for this for “unusual transactions”. For comparison: in 2022, about 1,9 million unusual transactions were detected, of which only 45 thousand were suspicious. Experts believe that the reason for such deviations in the TMNL program is the desire to receive approval from the United States for the enhanced fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. It is worth noting that excessive checks by banks on transactions lead to increased costs for their customers. 

Judgment against ABN Amro Bank

Based on its own interpretation of the WWFT law, ABN Amro decided to stop servicing the cryptocurrency company Byelex Data Solutions (BDS), which offers its services under the Byecoin brand. BDS clients can deposit cash through ATMs and exchange it for cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company earns a 10% commission on this. Clients' cryptocurrencies are placed on non-hosted wallets. After the exchange, the client can freely dispose of his cryptocurrency. In November 2021, BDS had 945 active users exchanging cash for cryptocurrencies. The average transaction amount was 900 euros.

In addition, during the period 2020-2022, BDS provided services for the provision of cash in exchange for non-cash funds. A total of 4 coffee shops and 1 equipment dealer received €1,2 million in cash from BDS. Such transactions occurred on average 2021 times a month during the period from July 2022 to January 6. In 42 cases, BDS clients received more than eight thousand euros in cash.

ABN Amro Bank has repeatedly demanded additional data on BDS transactions, in light of its own interpretation of the law. As a result of these audits, BDS ceased cashing operations as of January 18, 2022. Despite this, ABN Amro decided to stop servicing the company. BDS then went to court.

After a long study of the issue, the Amsterdam District Court ruled: “The termination of the banking relationship by the bank is not permitted. There is no obligation to terminate the contract. The bank's right to terminate the relationship in this case is invalid due to far-reaching consequences in comparison with the bank's insufficiently convincing arguments. The bank should continue its relationship with the cryptocurrency service provider.” The full text of the decision can be viewed here to register:.

Whether this decision and Brussels' demands will lead to it becoming easier to work with Dutch banks, time will tell.