Dutch Challenger Bank Bunq Fine €2.6M For AML Control Failures

It joins a growing list of challenger banks, including Monzo and Starling, that have faced penalties for shortcomings in AML compliance.

The Dutch central bank (DNB), which imposed the fine on Bunq on May 6, said: “DNB imposes an administrative fine because Bunq did not sufficiently follow up on signals and irregularities in four customer files, resulting in money laundering risks not being detected or not being detected in time.”

Bunq, which has over 17 million users, said it disagrees with the €2.6 million fine and has officially objected.

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The fine relates to issues between January 2021 and May 2022, when regulators reviewed Bunq’s compliance with Dutch anti-money laundering laws.

According to the Dutch central bank (DNB), Bunq failed to properly follow up on alerts from its transaction monitoring system. This meant potential signs of financial crime were either not investigated thoroughly or missed altogether.

DNB also noted inconsistencies in how Bunq reported similar transactions—some were flagged to authorities, while others were not—with no clear explanation.

This raised concerns that suspicious activity may not have been identified or reported in time.

The bank said the fine was issued due to Bunq’s “non-compliance” with regulations. Between 2018 and 2023, multiple reviews were carried out, uncovering repeated violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Despite previous enforcement actions, including earlier fines, the regulator stated that Bunq had not achieved lasting compliance with the law.

Bunq said: "At Bunq, we take our role as gatekeeper very seriously. We use the most advanced technology and continuously strengthen our systems - including in response to these 4 cases from 2021–2022.

“That being said, we don’t agree with DNB’s decision and have formally objected. Since this is now an ongoing case, we can’t comment further, but we remain confident in our position."

About bunq

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